


Chimaera

by Emmaficready



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Disfigurement, F/M, Graphic Description, Harry Potter Bashing, Pain, Ron Weasley Bashing, Suffering
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2019-08-08 04:21:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 31,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16422311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emmaficready/pseuds/Emmaficready
Summary: When Voldemort unleashes a deadly Chimaera upon Hogwarts, Hermione's life will forever be changed when her deciscions and actions alienate her from her friends and alter the course of her life.Will Snape be there to help her put her life back together ?





	1. Chapter 1

When Hermione had learnt of animagi she'd be fascinated.

When she'd seen McGonnagol transform from a cat to a woman on the fly she'd been awestruck.

When she saw how Sirius black managed to escape from Azkaban as a dog, and Peter Pettigrew attempted to hide in plain sight as as rat... she'd been obsessed.

It had taken her 6 months, but she'd done it.

The boys had of course worked through it with her , it felt right somehow, that the three of them do it together , just like the marauders had back in the day. Pettigrew aside.

Though Hermione managed it half way through her 4th year, 6 months after starting, it was half way through 5th year before Harry managed his form and now they were well into 6th year and Ron still hadn't shown any signs of a form.

Not even a partial transformation.

Her form however?

She'd been so pleased to have a form at all, but had been half expecting to come through as an Otter like her patronus, which she supposed she'd have been content with...but the other half of her was expecting her to be something small and unremarkable like a mouse or a hamster.

Something mundane, Ordinary, Plain.

But she loved her form.

Proud , Strong, Protective...fierce.

A lioness.

A very large , barbary lioness.

She loved it and she was immensely proud of it.

The forbidden forest did not frighten her anymore, not when she stalked through it on a night as a lioness.

**oOo**

When Harry found his form a year later, it had of course been a Stag , could he have ever been anything else?

Unlike his father however , who's animagus form was a red deer , Harry rose more than just a head and shoulders above... as a great Elk.

Gentle looking it may be, Bambi he was not.

The 16 point rack of antlers as dangerous as any blade would give anyone a run for their money.

It was hard for the two friends to watch Ron struggle to find a form.

He was convinced he would manage it someday , but they all knew that some witches and wizards were just incapable of changing.

Animagi were very rare and it was something that was inherent in your blood , you either were or weren't an animagus and there was nothing you could do to become one if it just wasn't in your blood.

And though they continued to support their friend, both Hermione and Harry feared he would never have a form , and what repercussions it may cause between the 3 friends.

**oOo**

The first time Hermione hunted as lioness, she'd been mortified.

She knew as an animagus , her instincts would bleed through in her day to day life.

Both her and Harry had noted changes since they found their form.

Harry was much more perceptive, his quidditch skills were even better as both his ability to track movement grew exponentially as did his speed and reflexes.

Hermione's sense of smell was through the roof, and her hearing greatly improved, her potions were now infallible as she could scent the best ingredients and hear the change in the bubbling potion.

Their personal traits were more emphasised too, whereas Hermione had always 'mothered' her friends, she was even more protective and nurturing of them now and Harry was even more proud and quick tempered, though fiercely protective of his friends. Especially his female friends , whom he liked to 'herd' around him , so he knew where they were at all times.

None of them were bad things  _really_.

Even if Harry did _butt heads_  a bit more with some of the boys.

But when she'd gone for a run in the forest one night , after skipping dinner , she'd found herself stalking an acromantula.

Instinct had dropped her into a crouch and had her shuffling on her belly through the grass , and when it ran she gave chase.

Eventually she'd brought it down and a sharp crack of her jaws had ended its's life.

She was about to bite into it when she'd scented something else on the air.

Horse. But not.

Man. But not.

_Centaurs._

Her first thought as the herd surrounded her was to apologise for hunting on their land , as they'd mistakenly trespassed before and had to apologise to the herd.

Then her second thought was... _hunting?_

I just... _hunted._

and _Killed._

And was going to eat a damn _acromantula!_

The centaurs had chuckled when the lioness had jumped away from the spider with a yowl , frantically attempting to spit and rubbing her tongue with her paws as if to rid herself of the taste.

"Peace lionheart , you hunt well"

She'd groaned then , and tried not to inhale a rather appetising scent coming from one of the centaurs.

Embarrassment aside,  _she was still hungry dammit._

"Perhaps we could come to some arrangement ? The young acromantula are a blight on this forest, their meat is a delicacy to us but they are so low to the ground that we struggle to hunt them. We have to crush them beneath our hooves but that leaves us open to being bitten in less than desirable places" The Stallion grinned and a few others chuckled around her.

"You however brought down that acromantula with more ease than our whole hunting party could have done , and it seems the meat is not to your taste?"

She shook her head and the centaurs once more chuckled at the visual of the lioness shaking her head.

"Perhaps if you bring down any more on or around our lands, we can offer an exchange ?" He threw something towards her from his pouch and instinct had her snapping it out of the air.

It was some kind of roasted meat, and it made her mouth water as she bolted it down.

She also decided then and there not to ask them what it was, because she had a feeling she didn't want to know.

Thus her bond with the centaurs was born.

And with it opened the doors to the other inhabitants of the forest.

Hippogriffs, unicorns, Thestrals.

She was 'herd' now to the centaurs and other hoofed inhabitants of the forest.

Pride, the inner lioness saw them as.

_Family._

They would hunt together, play together and read together.

She learned the call of the herd, and they learned her growls and lows so they could hunt together.

Harry was supportive, but he didn't understand.

He didn't have that instinct.

The urge to  _hunt,_ to provide for her pride, her _family._

**oOo**

Voldemort soon got tired of waiting and after his humiliating defeat at the battle of mysteries at the end of their fifth year, he became obsessed.

Death eater attacks were becoming more frequent, more reckless.

There were more casualties from both sides, as Voldemort's followers became desperate to appease their insane master.

Every failure was punished , so they got more and more desperate and more and more careless.

But it wasn't enough.

It was how when Voldemort got tired of waiting...a Chimaera came to be in the forbidden forest.

Now Chimaera are as dangerous beasts as they come.

With the body and head of a large lion with the back end of a goat, including the sharply cloven hooves and the tail of a dragon, just as sharp and deadly as the hungarian horntail itself.

But what made Chimaera's even more dangerous, and unique amongst among magical beasts was they  _resisted_  magic.

Even an Avada would not so much as tickle one.

The top duellers wore vests made from Chimaera hide, which would take the brunt of most spells even though the animal was dead, and which was exorbitantly expensive as it usually took a team of specialised unspeakables to trap and kill one.

It was Chimaera hair that was the core of the magic suppressant cuffs used in Azkaban prison , preventing prisoners from using magic.

Predatory , vicious and deadly.

Chimaera killed without conscience, hunted mercilessly and left most any who would stand in their way dead.

**oOo**

The three of them were sat on the grounds, by the edge of the forest. They had brought a 'picnic' out with them as they studied on the grass.

They heard it first.

The roaring.

She'd paused and cocked her head.

Harry had frozen at her look as Ron continued on unaware.

"Hermione?" He questioned but she raised her hand to get him to stop speaking.

After a moment she shook her head , as though clearing her thoughts.

"Nothing...I thought I heard-"

It came again, the deep bellowing roar , closer this time. Close enough for Harry to hear it too.

"What is that ?

His head was whipping side to side as he attempted to scan the forest for movement.

"I'm not sure I..."

Suddenly a scent on the wind hit her , one that was so foreign and yet strangely and vaguely familiar.

"It smells like... the defence room?"

It was Harry's words that connected the dots in her mind.

Foreign Smell , yet familiar.

Familiar because she was partly lion herself.

Familiar because they used  _duelling vests_  in the defence against the dark arts room.

"Harry..." Hermione whimpered as a morsmorde lit up the sky above the dark forest causing students to cry out in panic.

"Harry...it's a Chimaera"

**oOo**

Students were fleeing into the castle and screaming in panic as Hermione turned to Ron and Harry , both of which were fellow prefects , just as Neville, Dean and Seamus ran up to them.

"What's going on ?" They gasped.

"Chimaera, there's a Chimaera in the forest! Voldemort must have brought it here" Harry snapped out and the three boys paled.

"Wait, aren't the 5th year Gryffindors and Ravenvclaws in the forest with Sprout ?" Neville asked quickly

and Harry paled "Ginny's in the forest!? "

"The first year slytherins are too! " Hermione gasped , remembering Hagrid telling them that the students were going to see the newborn thestrals.

"Luna will be there too!" Neville gasped out, then the boys seemed more focused on Harry though as he ripped of his robe and began shifting heedless of the audience, eyes darkening and antlers sprouting from his head.

A voice pulsed at the back of her head.

_The little ones are in danger._

"Ron! Get Mcgonnagol, Snape and Dumbledore...tell them there's a chimaera in the forest and there are students in there!" She snapped out a growl, her teeth elongating into fangs and eyes turning golden.

The boy turned tail and fled towards the castle, tripping over his feet and firing off his patronus as he went... the lively jack russell shooting off in the opposite direction as he did.

Seamus and Dean began running to herd up stray students while Neville stayed alongside Harry.

"We have to get to them" Harry snapped out as he began to run

"What about the Slytherins?" Hermione shot back.

"Fuck the slytherins" Harry lowed "Ginny is out there!"

"And Luna!" Neville added

Then Harry shifted fully and the great elk let out a deep bellow as it began to scratch the ground, Neville didn't need to be told twice and was grabbing an antler as a handle and jumping onto the great elks back.

Hermione was running beside.

Her heart torn. Luna and Ginny were her friends.

But she saw Harry bolt through the treeline with Neville in tow, and Seamus and Dean were running back with brooms along with a number of other students.

All headed to the north side of the forest.

To the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws.

She made her decision.

Shifting as she broke through the treeline she veed south.

Alone.

Towards the Slytherins.


	2. Chapter 2

**MAJOR CHARACTER DEATHS IN THIS CHAPTER (And this story as a whole)**  
VIOLENCE  
BLOOD & GORE

* * *

Her heart was pounding in her chest, as she propelled herself through the woods at breakneck speed.

She'd sent her patronus off to Hagrid in warning, but knew the half giant would not be able to respond to her.

It had returned to her, chattering nervously and she didn't know what that meant, or if it had even reached Hagrid in time.

She pushed harder, increasing her speed and following the unfamiliar smell.

As she ran, she bellowed, deep low sounds of warning to the herd.

To all that heard her, the message was clear.

_Danger._

_Danger in the forest._

_Protect your young._

_Protect your elders._

_There is danger in the forest._

The message was received.

She heard the commotion from the tree tops as Hippogriffs and Thestrals broke through the canopy as they took wing, calling their grateful responses to her warning.

The centaurs blew hunting horns, their answer  _We will come_

She heard them in the distance but their land was a long way from her and even at a gallop it would take time to traverse that much forest.

Time she may not have.

**oOo**

She knew the second she was within range.

The roaring.

The screaming.

The worrying smell of blood.

She broke through the treeline, transforming quickly back to her human self as she saw the terrified group of children.

One of them had managed to cast a weak protego around them and they were huddled in a group of 13 of them, some had blood on their robes.

The protego would do nothing but they obviously didn't know that.

And the scared bunch of pure-blooded children in front of her, had no clue how to protect themselves without magic.

"It's alright it's me, where-"

"Hermione!" One of the young girls shouted pointing behind her.

A low snarl came from behind her and her stomach dropped at the sight that met her eyes.

The Chimaera.

It was huge.

And it's face was bloody when it lifted it's head from it's victim.

_Hagrid._

She was too late.

Seconds too late.

It was obvious he'd put himself between the chimaera and the children but it looks like the beast had sank it's teeth into his throat.

A sob caught in her mouth but as another terrible snarl rent the air, she knew she had no time to mourn her friend right now.

_I must protect the little ones_

Mind rushing she contemplated her next actions.

There was no way the children could outrun the Chimaera if it gave chase. Even if by some miracle they did manage to outrun it, it was doubtful they'd be able to find their way back to the castle... and a group of scared 10 and 11 year olds getting lost in the forest would be certain death, especially when it came to nightfall.

There was only one thing for it.

"CLIMB THE TREES, HELP EACH OTHER GET OFF THE GROUND!" She shouted to the frightened children and then leapt into action, shifting once more into her form as the Chimaera lunged toward her.

**oOo**

She managed to dodge it's first attack.

Even in her Lioness form it was larger than her, heavier and stronger.

But that meant she at least had the advantage of speed and manoeuvrability.

Though she knew if it pinned her, as it had Hagrid, she'd be dead.

She'd hoped to lead it away from the clearing, make it give chase and draw it away from the children.

Though when it decided the young slytherins would be easier prey than the evasive lioness she had no choice but to press an attack.

As the Chimaera lunged for the children, she lunged for it. Sinking her teeth into it's serpentine tail.

The beast bellowed out a pained roar and then it's angry attentions were once more on her.

She was not however, prepared for how flexible its tail was.

Adorned with spikes as it was, she was expecting the tail to be no more controllable than her own, or that of other mammals.

Instead, the reptilian tail slashed back at her with all the prehensile abilities of a large snake and she felt the dull thud of the jarring impact with her shoulder.

Her adrenaline was pumping, masking most of the pain though she knew the wound was bad when she felt the heat of her blood as it spilled down her arm and smelled the coppery scent permeating the air as it decorated the leaves beneath her in a deep crimson gryffindor red.

The pained yowl that escaped her could not be held back, but this was no time to lick her wounds.

_Fight or flight._

Her body screamed at her

_Fight or flight._

There was no question. She would not leave the children to this beast.

_Fight it is_

She swiped back quickly, using it's tail as a club had left its flank exposed and she felt her claws rend the flesh on goatlike back end.

It kicked out in responce, the cloven hooves making a powerful enough impact on her rib for her to hear it crack.

The pain and the strength of the kick knocked her back a few paces, and the Chimaera pressed the advantage, once more lunging at her.

She used her strong calf muscles to propel her into a leap out of the way, and the Chimaera ended up with a face full of dirt as it face-planted into the ground where she'd been not a fraction of a second before.

Whipping around she pounced onto it's back , attempting to sink her teeth into its neck.

But it was no good, it's mane was too dense and she could't get a hold of it's neck.

The spiked club tail, wielded like a mace smacked into her side and sent her sprawling onto the ground.

Her forceful impact with the ground knocked the wind out of her, but she'd had the frame of mind to sink all of her claws into the beasts hide when she saw the dragon like tail coming, so when she was propelled off it's back the forceful movement of her body dragged her claws through it's hide, shredding it like so much paper.

It Howled in anger , and turned to asses the damage as blood flowed freely from it's back, that second of hesitation was all it took for Hermione to be on her feet once more.

They circled each other , snarls and growls rending the air.

It held its tail in the air threateningly, slashing it through the air.

That tail needs to go.  _She thought._

When suddenly it lunged at her.

She feinted to the side, but it still managed to get in a good swipe with it's claws, dragging shallowly but painfully down her rib cage, tearing the skin.

However she managed to get a good bite to it's shoulder, sinking her teeth in roughly leaving a deep puncture wound that bled profusely.

The sound of thundering hooves suddenly penetrated the clearing.

The centaurs were here.

The three centaur stallions burst into the clearing, then reared back in shock at the sight of the Chimaera.

Roaring threateningly the Chimaera turned it's attentions to them, but Hermione quickly swiped at it's side.

 _NO!_ She roared to the centaurs.

Strong though the centaurs may be, their hide was not as strong as hers but delicate like a horses.

Their legs fast, but fragile.

A good lunge from this beast would cripple them.

And a crippled centaur was a dead centaur.

_Save the young!_

Margorian & Bane immediately followed her command and went for the students that were in the trees.

Each dragging down and taking 2 upon their back, with promises to return for the others.

But Ronan.

Young, Impulsive Ronan.

He raised his spear with a war cry and lunged for the Chimaera

_RONAN DON'T!_

But it was too late.

As the colt galloped towards it, the Chimaera's tail with bone-breaking force, swept his legs out from under him, bringing him violently down to the ground where he lay unmoving.

She tried to get to him, he was  _family_  but in her distraction she'd dropped her guard and gotten too close.

She caught movement at the corner of her eye and then sharp blinding pain as the claws rent down the side of her face.

An anguished howl tore from her as she felt rivulets of hot blood running down her face.

The Chimaera turned and pounced on the felled centaur who was unsuccessfully trying to get up , legs quite obviously broken.

He met her eyes, and she saw the resignation there, the apology.

Her stomach lurched as she watch the chimaera sink it's teeth into the stallions throat and his body go lax in responce, but not before he wrapped his arms around it's neck pulling it closer into his embrace.

A part of her screamed inside as she  _felt_  his life leave him.

Herd. Pride. Family.  _Brother._

It had it's head down jaws clamped around the centaurs throat, as it tried to pull its way out of his arms, now so much dead weight.

It's back legs and tail raised in the air.

With a snarl she launched herself at it's rear and clamped her jaw fully around the base of its tail.

It roared in anger and she felt the cloven hooves kicking at her once more as it struggled to break out of the dead centaurs arms.

Face, legs, ribs.

Each impact bringing the dull and aching pressure of broken bones, along with the burning heat of sliced skin.

But she held fast , until panicking it lifted both back legs and kicked her full force in the side.

She skidded to a stop a good 6 feet away from the beast but it was screaming and yowling as it turned to inspect its flank.

 _Look all you want you fucker, it's not going to change anything._  Ran through her head as she spat the severed tail on the ground.

She heard the centaurs returning, as she circled the Chimaera, she felt through the bond she shared with them that they'd traded the children with the younger colts halfway through the forest.

They were taking them to Hogwarts , so the stronger and faster stallions could return for the rest.

2 more students pulled down by each stallion , another 4 on their way to safety , that was 8 so far with 5 still huddling frightened in the trees.

She just had to keep going.

Just a bit more

She was willing to let it kill her, as long as the children were out of harms way.

Just a bit more.

Just a bit longer.

**oOo**

Without it's tail the Chimaera grew more angry and restless

It pressed the attack more, giving her little time to recover.

The lack of tail helped, but it by no way gave her an advantage.

He was still bigger, stronger and heavier

All things that would not diminish as they fought on.

Even dead he would be bigger and heavier than her.

But her speed was waning, along with her strength.

She didn't know how long she'd been fighting though it felt like days.

They each swiped at , clawed and bit each other.

She had numerous broken bones she knew, and it was only adrenaline that was keeping her on her feet.

**oOo**

He was circling her, wounded, bleeding, angry.

Lowing at her.

Angry little bellows.

She snarled back.

This was the most damage he'd probably ever taken she thought to herself.

It made him reckless, made him angry.

He lunged at her, and she dropped into a crouch causing him to overshoot... effectively leaping over her.

She swiped her claws at his underbelly as he passed over her, at a  _very_  sensitive part of him.

_No more baby Chimaeras_

But she wasn't prepared for the kick that got her.

A sharp snap had his cloven hoof planted right under her chin, right into her throat.

She shook with pain, her breath came with mouthful's of bloody foam.

The Chimaera turned from her when the centaurs returned, Margorian grabbed 2 more students but try as she might she could not get any sound to escape her mouth to warn them , and before Bane could grab 2 of the remaining 3 the Chimaera pounced on his flank bringing him to the ground as his mouth latched around the centaurs neck with a sickening crack.

Hermione felt the bile in her stomach rise as she heaved bloody breaths and watched the centaurs body continue to twitch, legs jerking as though trying to run from his side, though she knew he was dead, neck broken.

The Chimaera turned to her once more, where she stood on shaking legs.

There was blood and gore around its face, how much belonging to the others and how much to her she did not know.

But the tufts of mane were definitely not hers, and her heart hurt remembering how vain Bane had been about his palomino locks.

She was passed tired.

Passed weary.

But the sobs of the children in the trees kept her going.

3 more.

Just 3 more then she can rest.

Margorian returned, grabbed two leaving just one in the tree.

Her moment of distraction cost her.

It lunged and she fought.

They tangled, bit and clawed but she was beyond exhausted.

Suddenly a kick landed, hard yet glancing on her side and she fell.

The kick sliced deep into her flank and she turned with a groan, from her position on the floor.

There was blood and gore leaking from the wound, and she could clearly see some organ or other on the verge of escaping it too.

She fought to stand , but could not.

Her legs gave way and she laid on her side.

The chimaera turned to her fallen body scenting the gore in the air.

Tongue running over its front teeth.

She listened hard and could hear staff in the distance.

_Good._

They would be here soon, The last student would be rescued, and the Chimaera would be distracted enough with eating her corpse for them to get away safely.

It approached her , drooling and teeth flashing impossibly white.

_Finally._

_Finally I can rest._

It was a hairsbreadth from her throat when instead of its teeth sinking into her neck and giving her the sweet release of oblivion, there was a dull thunk and a muffled yowl from the beast.

_What?_

"Over Here!"

_Thunk_

"Leave her alone!"

_Thunk_

With a snarl the beast began to turn away from her.

_No that's not right_

She managed to raise her head enough to see the beast turning from her towards the last child in the tree.

_No come back_

_Thunk_

She was throwing acorns, or pine-cones.

Something that was growing in the tree.

Throwing them at the Chimaera, trying to stop it from making the killing blow.

And it turn making it turn towards the girl.

The girl had managed to get high into the tree

High enough to be safe?  _Maybe_

Though as a lion she could climb fairly well, the Chimaera's back end had cloven hooves and it would struggle.

It lunged up at the tree as she forced herself into an upright position, even as the motion caused the organs to pulse and press against the wound in her side.

Sure enough it fell pretty quickly.

But it had realised something. 

The tree shook and tilted when he'd lunged at it.

With a growl it threw itself heavily at the trunk and the girl screamed as she nearly fell from the branches.

_No no no_

She was forcing herself to her feet, forcing herself to push through the pain that rocked her body

She managed to drag herself, practically crawling on her belly towards the beast.

it was so distracted it didn't see her coming.

Her eyes scanned the beast planning her attack.

Closer she got , leaving a trail of blood behind her.

She waited, it reared upwards exposing it's underbelly and knowing it was the last thing she might do she lunged.

Reaching from underneath it, her fangs sank into the underside of its throat.

It groaned and pushed at her with its claws, but she would not release despite the pain.

She could hear the staff clearly now, mere minutes away.

Minerva and Albus in the distance, but Snape was closer and remembering the man throwing himself between her and a werewolf, she knew he would protect the last girl with his life.

Her jaws locked tighter and she shook her head side to side agitating the wound.

With a final pained bellow the chimaera did just as she'd hoped,  though her stomach sank, literally , as it further opened the wound on her side as frantic to escape it pulled backwards, away from her grasp , planting its feet in its chest to push her away.

In doing so, she did just what she had done before when she rent its side with her claws.

She used it's own force against it, and as she fell backwards with the force of the kick, she made sure she took the chunk of its throat with her.

It gave a few twitches as blood sprayed out of the neck wound , then it fell upon her like so much dead weight and she closed her eyes and embraced her own darkness.

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**WARNING: - If you don't like gore and violence...Why are you here? Like seriously...do not read.**

* * *

The bodies of the centaurs, Bane and Ronan, along with the huge form of Hagrid, littered the clearing.

And his snake...the first year girl was on the floor over the huge form of the Chimaera, crying and... _tugging on it's mane?_

Instincts sprang into him and he was running forward, physically grabbing the small girl from the floor, yanking her into his arms and carrying her back away from the downed beast.

But something was wrong, something was terribly wrong. The girl was screaming, crying and fighting him to be released.

"NO! No it's dead, Hermione killed it and it's crushing her ! I have to get it off of her!"

_Dead? Hermione? Granger? What the fuck..._

"She's an animagus! A lioness ! She fought it and saved us, but she's hurt and when she killed it, it fell on her!"

He dropped the girl in his shock as he now realised that the unmoving Chimaera was well and truly dead, and the girl ran back and began pulling at the Chimaera once more.

Lurching into action he was running forward and he grabbed hold of the things mane and tried to drag it back, but it was damned heavy. He felt the muscles in his neck tensing, as a vein throbbed at his temple and sweat ran down his back, but he gritted his teeth and put the full force of his strength behind it.

Minerva and Albus appeared and tried to levitate the thing but it would not budge, until with a great heaving breath, and thanks to years of hefting cauldrons, he finally got the beast to move to the side enough for him to see Hermione.

Then promptly dragged the young girl away and towards the staff, as he vomited all over the floor and possibly his boots.

"MINERVA! Get her out of here!" He gasped out, pushing the young snake towards her.

"NO! No she has to be alright! She saved me! Hermione!"

The girl was fighting him, trying to get a look at Hermione but he threw her over his shoulder and physically carried her away to Minerva.

"Severus ? What on earth?" Minerva asked but he blocked her view as she too tried to approach, looking beseechingly at Albus, paler than he'd ever been.

"Miss Granger saved them all, she fought it in her Animagus form as a lioness, the chimaera is dead... take my snake to the hospital wing Minerva"

"But Hermione.."

He moved to block her way, going as far as to physically push her back with a hand.

"You do not want to see this Minerva. Take my snake back to the hospital wing.  _Please_."

She reluctantly went with the girl, at Albus's insistence but when Margorian burst into the clearing he took the situation in and ran straight to Hermione, the strong stallion dragging the Corpse of the Chimaera the rest of the way off the girl.

"She's not dead!"

**oOo**

Margorian bellowed and Severus was turning heel and sprinting back to the side of the fallen girl as Albus quickly sent his patronus to Poppy.

Severus fell to his knees beside her, wand in hand, but for the first time in his life he was at a loss of what to do...where to start.

He'd never seen this much trauma on one person, who was still living.

She was practically naked, clothes shredded beyond recognition, coated in blood and gore from the Chimaera...but the girl...She looked like she'd been hit with the entrails-expelling curse, then put through a shredder.

Among other things there was A huge gaping wound in her side that went from her right hipbone, to just below her bellybutton, was pulsing as gore and what he though might have been her intestine was hanging out of it.

She was covered in deep puncturing bite marks that steadily oozed blood.

Claws had rent her body, Over her chest, a particularly deep gash that went bone-deep down her ribs, and another down the side of her face.

Numerous broken bones by the looks of things, the worst being her leg where he could actually see the bone breaking through the skin.

But the most worrying of all to Severus was the deep gash in her throat , that was causing her to rasp soundlessly as bloody foam was expelled with each laboured breath.

If it was not for those bloody breaths, and the bloodshot eyes that met his, he would have thought her long dead.

"S-severus?" Albus questioned , and the headmaster's voice was shaky.

It snapped him out of his reverie and he tried to heal the girl.

And failed.

Charm after charm did nothing.

He tried to set her bones with episkey.  _Nothing._

Tried to cleanse her blood, and return it to her with Vulnera Sedenteur. _Nothing._

 _"It's the blood"_ Margorian said worriedly "The Chimaera's blood , she's coated in it"

"FUCK" He growled and cast an aguamenti at her, to cleanse the blood from her body, only for the water to pool around her as if repelled.

Albus summoned Fawkes, who shed tears over the girl to the same affect.

"Goddamnit, we need to get her to Poppy-"

His words were cut off when he could hear the voice of Ronald Weasley in the distance, that meant Potter was with him.

"Albus" He said, and the headmaster nodded. Severus didn't need to voice his concerns, the boys would only get in the way, and Albus left to run interference.

The girls eyes were unfocused, but attempted to follow him.

"Miss Granger? Can you hear me ? Do you know who I am?" She blinked at him, and he breathed out in relief.

"I am very sorry for taking such liberties with you Miss Granger, but I need to try and stop the bleeding and get the Chimaera blood off you"

She simply blinked at him again as he ripped the tatters of clothing from her body, leaving her naked, and using them as makeshift tourniquets on some of the worse bleeding wounds.

Before taking off his coat , which was much larger than the small girl.

More centaurs had arrived, to deal with their own losses, but Severus was focused entirely on the girl.

He wiped off as much off the blood as he could, but she still refused to heal.

"Margorian, we need to keep her as still as possible , we need to make a sling and carry her to the hospital wing, help me get this under her."

They carefully moved her a bit at a time until his coat was underneath her, and a centaur mare brought two large branches to use as poles, which they tied to the sides of the coat.

_Thank Merlin for voluminous robes._

He would have been lost without them, as he wouldn't have even be able to transfigure anything, the chimaera blood would just revert it back to it's former shape.

"Alright , slow and steady on three...one, two..THREE"

They lifted as gently as they could, but the girl still tensed in mute agony her arm coming to rest on his wrist where he held the makeshift stretcher, nails digging into his skin.

"It's alright Miss Granger, we're going to get you to Poppy"

She'd screamed, or cried out from the pain, but the lack of sound disturbed him to no end, as he looked with concern at the oozing throat wound that had silenced her.

He'd tried to wrap it, only to realise she couldn't breathe when he did, so he'd had to leave it exposed.

A centaur mare approached.

"Allow me potions master, we can get her there quicker"

He was reluctant to leave the girl but Margorian answered the unasked question for him.

"Allow me to take you upon my back potions master, we shall all travel together"

With a grateful nod he took Margorian's proffered arm and was pulled onto the stallions back, as the mare took the other side of the stretcher.

Hermione's eyes searched for him and with one hand finding purchase on the belt Margorian wore, the other held onto the girl's hand.

"I'm right here Miss Granger, stay with me, stay awake"

She could only blink in responce, as he felt a small flutter in his palm when her hand tightened almost imperceptibly against his.

**oOo**

The centaurs went as quick as they could across the forest, without jostling the girl too much.

Her breath was staccato, and her body pale as she fought for each breath and blood continued to steadily seep from all her wounds.

When they came upon the edge of the forest it was eerilly quiet.

The headmaster had cleared the grounds, preventing students from awaiting them but that did not stop them looking through the windows and gasping in horror at the sight of the bloody girl on the stretcher, escorted by two Centaurs and the head of Slytherin.

Emphasised even more by the two centaurs behind carrying the dead Chimaera.

And the three behind that with the unmistakable form of Hagrid, even covered as the centaurs had done.

Poppy was waiting with the hospital wing doors wide open, though it seems no end of ordering from the staff could shift the congregation of Slytherin students of all years from waiting outside the doors.

Many of the first year slytherins were younger siblings to some of the older years, and they were many young ones holing onto elder students sobbing as they brought Hermione in.

Yelled questions to him were ignored, as he concentrated solely on the girl in his care.

When they finally got her to the bed Poppy had prepared, and eased her from the stretcher, releasing the centaurs to tend to their dead,  they all just stood in stunned shock for a moment.

Poppy, Severus, Albus and Minerva.

Until it was Poppy that finally broke the silence, with a shaky exclamation.

"Merlin help us"

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

WARNINGS

GORE / VIOLENCE / GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS OF INJURIES AND HEALING

* * *

Poppy was the first to snap out of it, attempting to scan her injuries and coming across the same problems that Severus had.

"I need water, we need to get this blood off of her  _ **Now.**_  From the taps and not conjured, don't let magic touch it, use buckets and bring it to me!"

Poppy stripped the remaining shreds of clothing from the girl, leaving just the tourniquets and snapping into action Severus, Minerva and even Dumbledore himself formed a human chain and were passing bucket upon bucket of water to the mediwtich as she sluiced it over the prone girl, washing off as much gore and blood as she could.

She was still bleeding freely, albeit sluggishly and the staff trembled as the water revealed more and more of her grotesque injuries.

Once she was clear of the Chimaera's blood, Poppy once more attempted healing and diagnostic spells.

Nothing.

Severus summoned a healing draught, which could be applied to her skin , but even that repelled from her body.

"FUCK" She growled and the other staff jumped at the very muggle expletive from the usually stoic mediwitch.

"The blood, it's seeped into her wounds, her bloodstream...I was afraid of this...there's nothing else for it"

Argus filch arrived when summoned and brought with him a gas stove and pans as they began boiling pans of water, and Poppy quickly retrieved a very muggle looking box, which opened to reveal muggle medical and surgical equipment.

"We'll have to do this the muggle way...Severus, hold her down"

**oOo**

This first thing Poppy had done was jab her with Adrenalin, stating it was the only thing keeping the girl alive right now, and she was too worried about her heart stopping if she attempted to sedate her, especially with no way of using muggle electrical devices like a defibrillator if her heart stopped.

She gave her some morphine, but doubted it would work with the way her body was burning through the adrenaline, the heat a side affect of the Animagus shift.

Though it would not ease her suffering now, Poppy assured them that if she wasn't such a strong witch and an animagus especially, the girl would already be dead.

She firstly attended to the gaping hole in her throat that was the most concerning. The beast had slashed through her skin and muscle and straight down to her trachea. It had given her a crude tracheotomy. It's why she was still able to breathe slightly, until Severus attempted to wrap her throat, and why she was unable to make any noise as no air was reaching it.

Poppy was having to suture and cauterise the muggle way, using surgical thread and a tiny cauterising iron that was being heated with the fire.

"Hold her Severus!" She said as the panicked girl met his eyes

"I am so sorry Miss Granger" He uttered as he using his superior strength to hold her down, while Poppy cauterised the wound.

Her back arched in mute agony, taught like a bowstring under his hands and he felt a sudden rippling in the muscle under his hands, as the amber eyes began to go golden.

"Keep her human Severus, she'll die if she changes now!"

Primal instinct, in reaction to the fear and pain had her animagus side pushing forward, an act of fear and self preservation.

"Miss Granger  _ **LOOK AT ME**_!" He bellowed in his best classroom voice, which caused golden feline eyes to snap to him. He saw her teeth had begun to point as well.

"You must _resist_  the animagus shift. Poppy is many things,  _a vet is not one of them_ , we cannot use magic on you to turn you back... if you change, you will die!"

Her face crumpled, scrunched up in fear and pain but she fought it and soon it was amber eyes that met him once more, filled with confusion, pain and fear.

"Good girl. Good girl Hermione, stay with me"

He didn't know if it was his praise or his use of her name, but her tearful eyes remained fixed on his, and a hand clenched in his robes.

The hand in her robes tugged him slightly and he saw her mouth forming words.

He bent down so he was closer to her, so he could here her speak.

At her words, He choked out a noise, it was half a sob and half a laugh.

Torn to pieces by a chimaera, her insides on the outside, her throat rent open and tied back together with barbaric looking muggle stitches, and that's what she wants to know.

He just nodded, unable to find the words. And she smiled and drifted into unconsciousness.

**oOo**

Poppy had summoned a squib who was a trained muggle surgeon and liaised with St Mungo's... but they could not wait for him to arrive.

Once Hermione's throat had been healed, it had the unforeseen repercussion that now she was once more able to get air to her throat and speak...they could also hear her delirious pain filled sobs and whimpers, that were tearing at his soul.

He could hear Minerva sobbing quietly behind him, and Albus attempting to comfort the witch.

With her throat sealed they attempted to get potions down her, only for the chimaera blood in her system to reject them and force her to gag and retch when they touched her tongue, meaning they could do nothing to alleviate her pain, she had already been given too much morphine but her body was burning it off at an alarming rate.

Severus had assumed that they would tackle the gaping wound on her stomach next, but Poppy had tearfully told him it was beyond her skills, other than occasionally wetting it with the sterilised water to prevent the organ from dying.

She Insisted on seeing to the severe break in her leg though, the compound fracture was dangerously close to her femoral artery and the wound was bleeding more than any of her others, the wrong movement and the artery could be severed.

"This has to be realigned before I can seal the wound"

Poppy raised the sides of the bed, and used padded handcuffs to tie her wrists and ankles to the bed, a look to Severus had him once more holding her shoulders to the bed.

The girl was drifting in and out of consciousness now, but when Poppy began to straighten the girls broken leg, her bloodcurdling scream made Severus's eyes fill with tears, as he felt an utter bastard for holding her down.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a shaking Minerva raise her wand, with the intention of casting a silencing ward, for the benefit of the Slytherins still huddled outside.

With tearful eyes and gritted teeth he shook his head.

Albus pushed her hand back down and closed his eyes as another scream tore through the hospital wing, the man looked every one of his years.

Hoarsley Severus spoke, as tears ran down his face unchecked.

"Let them hear"

**oOo**

They carried on healing the girl as much as they could, but Poppy was not qualified to do the major healing the girl required, she did allthe superficial work she could to slow the girls blood loss, but had to leave the grotesque stomach wound until the surgeon got there.

Though when he got there finally there was a problem, Hermione was getting white, her lips blue and Poppy worriedly checked her eyes and gums.

"She's anaemic, she needs blood but we can't get her a blood replenisher as her body's rejecting it"

"There's no blood at St. Mungo's that hasn't been somehow tainted by magic, stasis spells and the like" The surgeon told them, so Poppy checked the girls file at the surgeon's request and returned to the room.

"I took her blood type when she was here after the department of mysteries debacle. A+ , that means anyone who is A or O can donate blood, but she's going to need more than one person can give to get her through this surgery and recovery alive"

Hermione, now mildly sedated by the surgeon lay still and pale.

Severus marched with Poppy outside the hospital wing with determination, and flung open the doors.

Waiting until all attention was on him, he stepped backwards so that all of the assembled Slytherins could see the large body of the Chimaera laid out where the centaurs had left it.

Though they could not see Hermoine in her private room.

A number of shocked faces took in the Chimaera, as though they hadn't truly believed it until they saw the dead thing lying there.

Not long ago Albus had left to attend the gates, where the wards had told him that a number of parents had arrived, no doubt informed of the day's events by their children.

As he stood outside the hospital wing with Poppy, he took in sight of the entirety of Slytherin House, along with a number of parents who were Slytherin alumni in their own right.

He knew he held their attention. His white shirt covered in hers and the Chimaera's blood, making him look like a deranged serial killer. And the dead Chimaera behind him.

"When Miss Granger killed the Chimaera, the blood that she was coated in has stopped us from being able to use magic to heal her, instead she's having to be healed the muggle way, with no sedatives or pain relief"

A number of worried faces looked on at that, especially half bloods who understood the implication more than the pure bloods.

"In the fight, Miss Granger's throat was cut open so deeply that her windpipe was severed and she was unable to speak...We had to stitch her throat back together and cauterise the wounds with an iron to stop her bleeding to death...I believe you  _heard_  when she got her voice back and we had to then realign her leg bone that was poking through her skin?"

There were whimpers from some of the younger students at his words, and a number of sickly expressions but he was in no mood to censure himself.

"Would you care to know the first thing she said to me, to any of us IN fact when she could get enough air to speak?" He looked around for a moment before continuing "Please be aware at this point that Miss Granger's entrails are hanging out of a wound in her stomach awaiting to be surgically replaced"

He heard a student retch at his words, and he saw many death eaters in the crowd pale visibly, including Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, The Senior Crabbe and Goyle and Lord Greengrass.

"She said to me, 'Are the slytherins safe?' "


	5. Chapter 5

"She needs blood or she will die, St. Mungo's blood is stored with a stasis spell so would be rejected by her body, she won't survive the surgery and recovery without it."

Poppy held up a small blood bag to show the vast majority of purebloods, who would have no knowledge of the muggle process.

"Humans have about 5 litres of blood, we use a small needle in the arm, to draw out a small amount of blood...this small bag is how much blood we would ask one person to donate. Miss Granger will need at least 10 of these just to get her through this surgery...more if there are complications. There are no side affects to giving blood, other than you may feel a little dizzy or tired and by tomorrow you will be completely back to normal. However just like hair colour, and eye colour, everyone is born with a blood type. There's A, B, AB and O. You can only donate blood to someone who is the same blood type as you, or if you are O you can donate to anyone. Miss Granger is A, that means anyone who is A or O can donate blood to her , we can do a fingerprick test to see what your blood type is if you don't know, also anyone that has taken potions in the last 24 hours would not be able to donate"

There was silence for a moment before a first year girl moved forward, it was the girl that had been desperately trying to pull the Chimaera off of Hermione.  
Helena Black. She'd been stood with the Malfoys. She was halfblood and technically Narcissa's second cousin, though called the woman Aunt. When her parents had died at the hands of the dark lord, Narcissa had begged to keep the baby as a boon from the dark lord, which was granted. The small girl had been raised by Lucius and Narcissa. She'd been a slight and sickly girl, and kept hidden away by the Malfoy's due to her frailness. Narcissa had loved her like the daughter she never had, as like a lot of pureblood women she'd suffered complications after Draco and been unable to have anymore children. Draco saw her as a younger sister, and was fiercely protective of her, and though Lucius in public sneered at the halfblood girl for appearance's sake, in private she was as much his daughter as Draco was his son.

"Test me"

Poppy's stern and determined gaze had softened at the small girl's approach.

"I'm afraid it would have to be 16 and above only my dear"

"But why not?" The girl actually stamped her foot.

"In a muggle I would understand, but  ** _you_**  said-" Here she pointed an accusing finger at the mediwitch " _You . **said**_ that anyone without potions in their system from the last 24 hours can donate? Then there's nothing to stop me donating blood, then taking a blood replenishing potion and I would still be able to do it again if I wait 36 hours in-between to allow the potion out of my system."

Then she levelled a glare at them both.

"AND I would still have a hell of a lot more blood left in me than if Hermione hadn't put herself between me and that thing!" She gestured to the Chimaera and stared down the mediwitch and her head of house with fierce determination.

Severus arched his eyebrow at the precocious girl that was so reminding him so much of a young Hermione, and he looked at Poppy with consideration.

Poppy after a moments retrospection nodded. "If she's a match and her guardians allow it"

The girl had spun around to eye Lucius and Narcissa with determination.

It took a moment, but then Lucius inclined his head, tucked his cane under his arm and stepped forward, with Narcissa at his side.

"Let us not dawdle madam, and get these  _tests_  underway shall we? The Malfoy's have always honoured the old ways, and we always pay our debts. I for one shall not deny the life debt that my blood owes the girl, and if  _my_  blood can go some way towards it...then so be it"

Severus had gone first, Poppy pricked his finger with a small needle and dropped the blood on a piece of parchment, running the test on the droplet instead of on Severus himself, just in case.

"A+ Severus" She announced. In a smaller voice for his hearing only, as she was aware that many Slytherin's did not know of his half-blood status "were you vaccinated as a child ?" He gently shook his head no, and she nodded and he told her to take two bags from him. He was a large strong man, so she agreed...after all there wasn't really any telling Severus No.

The doctor had warned her there were many processes blood usually went through before it was approved for transfusion, however the need was too great to wait right now. She  _might_  die from complications with the transfusion. But she  _would_  die if she didn't get it. The pressing worry though was that there could be complications for people to give blood who'd had certain live vaccinations, they may conflict with Hermione's immune system, so it was actually vastly safer for her to take blood from someone who hadn't been vaccinated like Severus...or like pure-bloods.

Helena had not been a match, she tested B and cried when she realised she couldn't donate blood to help Hermione, Narcissa had also tested B and had to console the weeping girl.

Both Lucius and Draco tested A, and we cleared to donate.

Lord Green-grass insisted on being tested next. He had three children, The eldest being Daphne who was in Hermione and Draco's year, Astoria 2 years younger and his only son Anthony, was a first year. One of the students who Hermione had saved.

One by one, the entirety of Slytherin house was tested.

Everyone that came back positive, donated.

Owls were sent out, and more Slytherin Alumni were apparating to the gates of Hogwarts and insisting on being tested.

Staff came through, and donated when they could.

A few students went through the school to the other dorms and a few volunteers turned up from other houses, though most were muggleborns and halfbloods that had to be turned away due to vaccinations or potions conflictions.

All that came were Hufflepuff and a few were Ravenclaws.

No Gryffindors.

Partway through testing the Slytherins, when they had 10 units of blood, Severus who was a trained Healer from his potions mastery, had took over the testing and collection to allow Poppy to assist in the surgery.

As Poppy and the muggle surgeon worked, muggle coolers were being used to create a stockpile of blood and Ice was being brought from homes in Hogsmede that had electricity, to use to keep it viable.

Hours passed, and many students returned to their beds.

But not the slytherins.

The hall was filled with snakes throughout the night as the poppy and the muggle surgeon worked on, House elves brought food and drink for the families stationed there.

And they waited.

**oOo**

It was gone 2am when Poppy beckoned Severus. The assembled Snakes stood at her arrival, but Severus gestured for them to wait as he entered Poppy's office with the other heads of house and Dumbledore.

The surgeon and Poppy looked grim.

"She's alive. I don't know how, other than Merlin's will and sheer strength of character...but she's not even halfway through the woods yet, let alone out of them"

"Doctor?" Severus asked calmly, and the man breathed out a deep sigh, rubbing his hand over tired eyes.

"She's suffered the equivalent trauma to what I'd say was a severe RTC. On top of that there were more complex internal injuries than we anticipated, due to her being crushed by the body of the beast"

"Tell me" He growled and after a quick look at Poppy and the headmaster, who nodded, the Doctor began to explain to the heads of house.

"During the surgery she went into cardiac failure, we managed to bring her back but she's currently in a coma. We're having to continue her treatment in the muggle way as she's still rejecting magic. Operating in a non sterile environment was risky, and infection is still a huge worry, but she was dying and we had no choice."

They all nodded their ascent to his statement.

"In all honesty, muggle or wizard, I've not seen anyone pull through that much trauma and her chances are still below 50%. Broken bones and fractures notwithstanding, that beast crushing her did a number on her insides, we had to contend with fragments of bone from her rib cage which pretty much shredded her internal organs, on top of that there was a lot of foreign material introduced into the body cavity via the gaping side wound. She was haemorrhaging so much blood, from so many places that we made the decision to remove anything badly damaged that was not essential, rather than attempt to repair it. That way we and the body can focus on healing other more essential organs"

"What do you mean removed...?" Minerva and Pomona looked very green.

"Both her Gallbladder & Appendix were damaged beyond repair, though she will doubtfully miss those, as they have little affect on her day to day life. The damage was mostly centralised on the side where she had the open wound, she lost a section of the bowel that was damaged, the kidney on that side and part of the lung as-well"

"How will that affect her ?" Minerva asked softly and the Doctor winced.

"For the lung she will never be an athlete, and she will be more at risk if she gets a bad chest infection like pneumonia, though given time she should be able to live a mostly normal and active life. The loss of the kidney is more difficult, and she will definitely have to moderate herself especially in terms of alcohol, Humans have about 20ft of bowel and we had to removed about 2ft, with any luck she might not notice that, though there may be some adverse affects with her ability to cope with certain foods, such as heavy spices or acidity."

He cleared his throat before he continued.

"What is concerning me the most at the moment is the loss of part of the spleen, and over half of her liver"

"Over half?!" Minerva gasped, as Severus paled.

The Doctor raised a placating hand.

"The liver is remarkable at regenerating itself, you can lose up to 85% of it and it will eventually regrow and return to its normal state, so a loss of 60% is not damning, however the issue is the spleen will not regrow and both the spleen and liver play key parts in the body's immune system. If she continues to be unresponsive to magical healing, Infection is going to be our main concern in her recovery."

The Doctor looked to Poppy sadly and she nodded to allow him his leave.

"There's something else isn't there Poppy?" Pomona asked the mediwitch who looked on the verge of tears.

She nodded and gently wiped her eyes.

"Because the organs had to be removed, even if at some point her body accepts magical healing again...those organs are gone. Bones can be regrown, but not organs, not flesh and tissue, not after so long..."

"Like with Alastor's leg and eye" Flitwick squeaked and Poppy nodded dejectedly

"She's going to have a number of disfiguring scars, including the claw marks on her face, a visual scar like that is going to be hard for anyone to cope with, let alone a young girl... but...we...there was too much damage, we had to perform a total hysterectomy. The womb, the cervix. She has the ovary on the opposite side, but all it is good for is hormones to prevent menopause. Even if she pulls through, there is no way of regrowing those organs. She will never be able to have children"

Severus sank into the chair behind him at her declaration, and Minerva sobbed into Albus's shoulder.

"What can we do?" He asked quietly.

"Severus?" Poppy questioned.

"I said, what can we do?" He practically growled.

"There's not much we can do, The problem is I am working blind as I cannot run diagnostics. There's muggle equipment that would be useful to help her breathing and monitor her heartrate and so on, but the machines are very costly, thousands of muggle pounds, and can't function in the castle due to the magic"

Suddenly Severus had a thought.

"What if there was a way that they could ? If we were to ask the castle to divert as much magic from her room as it could, we could then reinforce it with shamstones, to pull the magic from the air. Anyone that stepped into the room would be unable to cast, but magic isn't working on her anyway, then we could get a muggle generator in the room, one that runs on fuel to power the muggle devices?"

"Ignoring for a moment Severus, that fact that Shamstones are considered dark in nature, they are illegal, rare and impossibly expensive, how perchance do you imagine you would be able to find not one but four to be able to create a barrier around the room? And still fund the cost of the muggle machinery? We will of course help where we can, but even I would struggle to fund this avenue in its entirety"

Severus simply offered him a smirk, and turned heel to the hallway full of waiting snakes.

A few owls later, Severus had his hands on four Shamstones and access to enough funds to create a second, third and fourth hospital wing if he so desired.


	6. Chapter 6

_"Ignoring for a moment Severus, that fact that Shamstones are considered dark in nature, they are illegal, rare and impossibly expensive, how perchance do you imagine you would be able to find not one but four to be able to create a barrier around the room? And still fund the cost of the muggle machinery? We will of course help where we can, but even I would struggle to fund this avenue in its entirety"_

_Severus simply offered him a smirk, and turned heel to the hall of waiting snakes._

* * *

24 hours and a number of owls later, Hogwarts's hospital wing was the proud owner of the only magical dampening isolation and intensive care room in wizarding Britain.

When the Headmaster asked Hogwarts to divert magic from a room, the castle did them one better, creating a new room specifically for their purposes that held very little residual magic. Once the shamstones were in place, a top of the line, and very expensive near-silent muggle generator was bought in, which Filch made it his duty to monitor and maintain.

Poppy was finally able to monitor the stats of her patient, with machines that read her hearbeat, and another that provided her with oxygen. A fridge-freezer was bought for the room as well, a rather large and impressive two door american thing with all the extra bells and whistles, including built in ice machine. For storing both blood and medications.

A sizeable 'donation' from one half-blood Slytherin into the right hand, had a large shipment of I.V pain medication, antibiotics and other essentials delivered to Hogwarts gates.

No expense was spared by the Snakes, and the irony was lost on none of them as Pure-blood families across Britain converted their galleons into pounds to purchase the muggle scientific equipment, to save one muggleborn's life.

And now all they could do was wait.

**oOo**

When Hermione's condition was as stable as they could get it , with the introduction of the muggle equipment, Severus called a meeting.

A very specific meeting, with Albus's reluctant approval.

They met in the dungeons. All the marked, the sympathisers and their oldest children.

"You know why I have called you all here" He intoned, and there was no doubt of his intentions.

None answered, but a few nodded grimly.

"I am done" He said simply , the candlelight dancing on his face making his features appear even more stern.

"I am done risking my life and my sanity for a egotistical maniac, this is it for me."

"But the mark-" Narcissa started.

"-The mark can be removed, I have a way...I am done, I don't know about you but this is not what I wanted, it isn't what I signed up for and it hasn't been for a damn long time either"

There were murmurs of agreement before a voice broke through.

"Dangerous words Severus, to the wrong ears" Lord Greengrass spoke calmly.

"To who's ears? Who of you here would return to the Dark Lord now? He would have gladly had all of your children as acceptable casualties in  _his_  fucking war, just to win a pissing contest with Dumbledore, one he could never win"

He snarled as he observed the surrounding adults

"What has your Dark Lord ever done for you?" He growled at them.

"The Dark Lord plans to..."

"No!" Severus snapped, and the voice fell silent.

"Some of us have followed that man for nearly 30 years, and in those 30 years I want to know...what has the Dark Lord ever done for any of you? Not what he  _plans_  to do, not what he  _promises_  to do...what has he  _actually done_ for you?"

There was silence for a while until of all people Draco Malfoy snorted and muttered.  _"Took over my fucking house"_

"Anybody?" He growled. "I shall tell you what he's done for me, he led me on a path that nearly had me dead or kissed in Azkaban. He marked me as someone not to be trusted for the rest of my goddamn life. He uses my talent to achieve his ends, and takes all the credit and what do I get in return?"

"Torture, ridicule, debasement, servitude. The one thing I asked him for was to spare the life of my best friend and he killed her without a moment's hesitation"

"Tom Riddle does not care about any of us, and will promise us anything our hearts desire with no intent to deliver so that he can use us to meet his goals!"

"Now let me ask you this. When was the last time a Muggleborn ever threatened you? or did anything to you personally"

Silence once more.

"In fact, tell me the last time any of you even had any personal dealings with any Muggleborns? In fact, lets hear from the students shall we? they are surrounded by muggleborns"

After a while a hand slowly started to rise, Lord Greengrass's eldest Daphne.

"I was failing charms... Justin Finch-Fetchley, he's a muggleborn Hufflepuff, tutored me and now I'm getting E's"

"Terrifying" Severus drawled. "Anyone else?"

Gregory Goyle cleared his throat. "Hermione's been tutoring me in potions so I can pass my NEWTS, and she's going to put in a word for me with Charlie Weasley to see if I can go work on the dragon reserve in Romania"

A bit of a pause, then Pansy Parkinson spoke quietly. "Cormac McClaggen tried to spiked my drink at the Yule Ball, Evan Wood from Ravenclaw saw him dragging me out the hall and punched him. He took me to the Hospital Wign, and went to the Headmaster with me to back me up when I reported him. We walk to Hogsmede together sometimes, he wants to be a Mediwizard"

Severus sneered to the surrounding crowd.

"So far of three students we have two that have had help academically and one that was prevented from being assaulted, all at the actions of the dangerous  _mudbloods_ we have been told so much about"

"The Dark Lord is a powerful wizard..." Lord Greengrass spoke.

"Says who, other than him?" Severus growled, and the others were taken aback by his answer.

"When was the last time you saw Voldemort fight a duel?" He asked. "Nearly two years ago Against Dumbledore, a great wizard yes, but a feeble old man well past his prime and twice Tom Riddle's age and we all saw how that ended"

Indistinct murmuring and shuffled feet.

"And Before that?" He asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Potter, in the cemetery" Lucius added slowly.

"And once more, we all know who won that altercation, the then 14 year old boy! Before that then?" He asked with a sneer.

No-one could speak.

"All these great victories the dark has won over the light ? Who defeated the aurors Longbottom and his wife? The Lestranges. Who took out Alastor Moody's eye ? Rosier. Who Killed 13 people to frame Sirius Black ? Peter Pettigrew. "

Severus paced from one end of the classroom to the other.

"All these dangerous muggleborns that tutor our children and defend them against attackers. All these 'great victories', fought by  _us_  in his name. The only power that man has is the gift of a silver tongue!"

There was silence before a low chuckle entered the room.

Lucius Malfoy.

"We've all been a bunch of greedy fools haven't we?" He chuckled and rubbed a palm across his face.

"He's had us fighting his battles and using our resources to achieve his goals, whilst promising protection from an enemy he created" Severus growled.

"There was no issue with purebloods and muggleborns before he came along! There was a divide yes, but a social one, the same as in any society the divide between the rich and the average person, or muggleborns unused to pureblood tradition didn't traverse the same social circles. But there was no animosity until he dragged us all under his rhetoric that getting rid off all the muggleborns would answer all our problems, that were never problems to begin with!"

Sitting down he pressed his hands into his eyes.

"Ignore Potter. Ignore the Dark Lord...That girl, that  _muggleborn_  girl in the hospital wing, risked her life to save the snakes because she knew that nobody else would. She did it because it was the right thing to do. She didn't care about bloodlines, or purity or the sacred 28, all she cared about was protecting a bunch of scared children and she was willing to die to do it" 

"I for one am not going to live the rest of my life catering the whims of a racist madman. I am going to do what I should've done a long time ago, and judge people on their actions, and deeds and not some preconceived notions based on the purity of their blood... so what say you?" 

"Aye" Lucius said with an incline of his head.

"Aye" Narcissa.

"Aye" Goyle, and Crabbe and Parkinson.

And finally with a nod of his head, Lord Greengrass. "Aye"

"Let's see Tom fight his war without an army" 

 


	7. Chapter 7

_"Let's see Tom fight his war without an army"_

* * *

The defection was quick, massive and devastating.

Almost all of the inner circle, who'd been with him since the beginning and were raising their children to be followers, had left Voldermort's service.

Old noble families, called in their relatives to return to the homesteads, as eons old blood wards were raised on manors across England to protect their families, while the children were safely at Hogwarts.

Even the Malfoys, as soon as Voldemort left on an errand, raised the manor's wards and prevented his re-entry much to his dismay.

Voldemort was left with no home, but a handful of loyal followers. The Lestranges, Mucliber, Yaxley... and a few younger death eaters and new recruits.

Though many of those scattered when seeing the elite had defected.

Word was that he was taking accommodation with the Lestranges, though Bellatrix's husband was apparently not too happy with that.

Some defected families agreed to fight for the light, others agreed to remain neutral. They wouldn't fight for the light, but they wouldn't oppose it either, instead choosing to close ranks and safeguard their families at home.

The high ranking Slytherins used every inch of sway they had in their respective positions, and called in all their political and legal favours, there would be no more influencing on Voldemort's behalf. Tom Riddle broke the first rule of Slytherin house.  _We protect our own._  He was officially blacklisted among Slytherin.

And at a school, aurors were called and as the unsuspecting students carried on none the wiser, Severus identified every student that was a known follower, and a shoe-in for taking the mark.

There were students from  _every_  house.

Each student was innocuously pulled away, interviewed and given choices. Many defected, they'd only been followers because their parents were, or they'd been intimidated into it and instead chose to be cuffed with Azkaban monitoring band, the equivalent of a muggle prison tag.

Two remained devout, and were taken to Azkaban.

One attempted to fight and flee the aurors, the resulting fight left one auror permanently scarred, and the student comatose in St Mungos, awaiting a life sentence when they awoke.

* * *

Severus sat by Miss Granger's bedside.

When news of the attack had finally been fully released to the students, she'd had a few visitors.

Most all of them were Slytherins, they came and did whatever was asked of them. They volunteered in the hospital wing, they brought flowers for her room, or those that knew her better brought books and read to her.

The Lovegood girl visiting frequently, and held one sided conversations with her.

But no Gryffindors.

Not one.

Minerva had shakily confessed that she'd been called to Gryffindor tower, where all of Hermione's belongings had been thrown into the hall, after being charmed permanatly green.

Slytherin green.

Even her poor familiar had his fur dyed green.

All attempts she had made at soothing the irked Gryffindors had been fruitless. They had closed ranks. Hermione Granger had the choice between Gryffindors and Ravenclaws or Slytherin, and she'd chosen the snakes. Hermione Granger was a traitor.

The divide between the school didn't seem to be much worse than it ever had been, on the surface. Though they worried how things would change, if and when she was returned to classes.

**oOo**

It was the middle of the night, and Severus sat by her bedside listening to her steady breathing, aided by the machine and the rythmic beeping that signified her heart. She was breathing on her own, but the machines provided her with oxygen and the monitors closely watched her heart.

 _Why her?_  He thought to himself as he sat there like a sentinel in the dark. She was such a good person, she'd never do anything to harm anyone, and she was loyal to a fault. A champion for the lesser and downtrodden, she didn't deserve any of this, It simply wasn't _fair._

It was then that his own words came back to haunt him. _It may have escaped your notice but life isn't fair._

"I am sorry Miss Granger, for the way that my snakes and I have treated you over the years, you never deserved it. Know that it was never my desire to treat you so abysmally, nor to deny you the praise that you so rightfully deserve. But that is all going to change now, thanks to you. Would that you could, see what your actions have done...the lives that you have saved. Not just the children in the forest, but their families and friends. The eyes that have been opened to your actions. The inner circle is decimated, Death Eaters and sympathisers alike have deserted the dark lord and left him practically destitute. When we win this war, for I am now certain that we shall, it will be because of your actions that we succeed. Your selflessness. Thank You,  _Hermione_ "

Suddenly the machine began to beep more rapidly, and as he looked to it he thought he was mistaken when he saw a movement from the corner of his eye. He looked back to the bed, and after a short while, sure enough, there it was again. Her hands twitched just slightly.

_Was she waking up?_

"Miss Granger?"

Her eyes were fluttering behind closed lids, and her lips moved as though trying to form words. He leant forward as though to listen, when suddenly her hands clenched tightly in the bedding as her back arched off the bed. The monitor at the side of her let out a shrill scream, as her teeth bared in a grimace and her head threw back, as her back arched even further, almost unnaturally. 

Blood began seeping through her white gown at an alarming rate as the motion tore at her stitches, and still the monitor continued to scream. 

In panic he grabbed his wand, only to feel the thing dead and useless in his hands. Not a moment later Poppy barrelled into the room, knocking him out of the way.

He stepped back, unsure and wrong-footed, not knowing what was going on or what to do without magic until Poppy called out to him.

"Severus! Get the mediwizard here now, she's having a seizure!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry guys, I assure you I will never abandon a story, no matter how far I get behind on updating! x**

* * *

_Blood began seeping through her white gown at an alarming rate as the motion tore at her stitches, and still the monitor continued to scream._

_In panic he grabbed his wand, only to feel the thing dead and useless in his hands. Not a moment later Poppy barrelled into the room, knocking him out of the way._

_He stepped back, unsure and wrong-footed, not knowing what was going on or what to do without magic until Poppy called out to him._

_"Severus! Get the mediwizard here now, she's having a seizure!"_

* * *

Once more he found himself sat outside the hospital wing, with a contingent of snakes, most of them in varying stages of wakefulness and in their nightwear.

A tearful Helena was being held by the pale form of Draco Malfoy, all pretences of indifference forgotten as he held his crying pseudo-sister.

He'd been outside the wing for an hour, when the Slytherin prefect on duty had found him there, once word of why he was there had reached the dorms, the snakes had started to appear and join his vigil.

"It is passed curfew" were the first things he'd said as the group around him began to grow. "We know" had been the answer, and that had been that.

Lucius and Narcissa arrived not long after, and Severus suppressed a snort at how only they could arrive impeccably attired at 1:30 in the morning, without a hair out of place. They were escorted by a worried looking Dumbledore in extremely colourful sleep robes who offered lemon drops to the assembled Slytherins. Many of the younger ones looked at the man in confusion, having never been approached by the elderly man in such a way before, unlike his favoured Gryffindors. But sweet tooth or not, the older Slytherins accepted. They knew an olive branch when they saw one.

It was 3am when the mediwizard finally left, and Poppy beckoned Severus and Dumbledore inside, along with Minerva who had come when she got a patronus from Dumbledore.

"Tetanus" She said sadly, "It's something we always knew was a risk"

"Tetanus?" Albus questioned, to which Severus replied.

"You may know it by the old muggle term Headmaster, Lockjaw"

The confusion was replaced with worry, as they all waited for the Witch to continue.

"Infection was always our biggest worry from the start. We've done all we can..."

"Can we see her?" Severus interrupted, Poppy looked at him with compassion.

"You can, but be warned, it's not pretty"

He nodded and the witch escorted the three of them to her room.

"Oh Merlin" Minerva gasped, and held a shaky hand to her mouth as Albus moved to comfort her.

"I'm going to put a stop to the children visiting, until we get through this" She said sadly, and Severus could only nod in agreement as he took in her form with some dismay.

"I know it looks extreme, but it is necessary. We managed to get a bite plate in her mouth. It may not look very pleasant, but it will stop her biting or swallowing her tongue, breaking or damaging her teeth in the spasms when her jaw clenches. The tube down her nose is feeding her and giving medication direct to the stomach, and the restraints are to stop her damaging herself any further in the seizures. Usually it's safer to patients to move with the spasms, but she's post surgical and a damaged wrist or ankle from the restraints is better than her tearing out her stitches and having her insides hanging out again. We've had to put a catheter in, because she can lose control of her bladder with the seizures and we don't know how frequent they will be"

He vaguely nodded and felt his stomach churn as he stared at her prone form, having to go through so many of these debasing procedures.

"She does not deserve this, this suffering and these indignities. In all my years I have not known anyone that would deserve this less than she, she has never had an ounce of malice in her, it is not right"

The witch held a soothing a hand to his arm.

"I know Severus, but life is seldom fair"

Once more his own words taunted him, and he couldn't put into words the way that he was feeling, though for the first time he attempted it.

"Every year since her first, she sends me a card and a gift at Christmas. I am aware students often gift members of staff, but she is the first time one has ever deigned to extend one to me. That first year, she bought me a new set of robes to replace the ones she burned."

"I didn't know that, she never said anything" Minerva said softly with a small chuckle.

"Why would you?" He said simply. As though he hadn't just shared more of his personal life in the last sentence, than he'd done in the last year.

"She warded my chambers." Came a croaky voice from behind them, and they turned to see the quiet and frail form of Argus Filch in the doorway.

"Apologies, I didn't know you were here Argus" Severus spoke, and Argus just inclined his head.

"Some of those little trouble makers like to set pranks in my office or my chambers, she put wards up for me and comes through every month to make sure they're still working" He gestured to the cat in his arms. "She made this for Mrs Norris too" Severus gently took hold of the collar that the grumpy cat was wearing. it had been quite obviously hand made, knitted or crocheted maybe, but there were protective runes sewn in to the pattern.

"Little swines are always hexing her. Not anymore" He said with a small smirk.

"Indeed" Severus said with an answering smirk. It was just a simple thing, a collar for the cat, but it hummed with her power and she'd obviously imbued it with magic as she'd made it, with her full attention.

"Someone needs to tell the students" Poppy said softly, when they heard a noise from the hall. It brought them all back to the present, and reminded them of the large contingent of students that were amassed in the hallway.

Severus made to move but Albus put a hand on his shoulder.

"Return to your post Severus, Minerva and I shall inform the others that visiting hours are to be limited to staff for now"

He felt somewhat like he was betraying his house when he accepted with a nod, but he felt like he had a duty to stay by her side.

"Thank You, Headmaster"

He returned to his seat at the side of her bed, and Poppy placed a soft hand on his shoulder, before turning and leaving him in peace.

Waiting until the sound of the witches footsteps had disappeared, he carefully picked the small book out of his pocket and began to read.

Shakespeare, The Winter's tale.

**oOo**

Every night he returned to her bedside, where he sat quietly and read. It was almost two weeks before they managed to clear the tetanus from her system, only for her to fall to a chest cold and have to be intubated, the machine taking over for her breathing.

His young snakes were frantic, wanting to see her. The class she'd saved had bonded very closely, and he often found them banded together like lost ducklings awaiting his return for news of her condition.

Helena however, had proven to be a thorn in his side, and had more that once sneaked into her room. It wasn't until he sat her down and explained to her, that it was very important to try and keep her environment as sterile as they could, to prevent her catching infections whilst her immune system was compromised, that the girl finally and tearfully agreed to stay away until Poppy once more gave them the clear to visit.

Many of the students were buying her gifts, and a number came back from hogsmede with sweets, flowers and other things. Until he had to intervene.

"Miss Granger had never been interested in material things, and she would not want you to be wasting your money on her" He said as gently as he could to the 10 year olds that had been planning on spending their, rather substantial in some cases, hogsmede allowances on her. "If you wish to do something for her, let your actions speak rather that your galleons" 

That was how Severus Snape came to be Hermione Granger's official mail reader. The staff watched in awe, as pure-blooded slytherin students approached muggleborn hufflepuffs and ravenclaws, for help in creating gifts for Miss Granger. 

The muggleborns were more than happy to extend the hand of friendship to the purebloods, and were showing the fascinated snakes numerous 'muggle skills' , like drawing, painting, poetry and even sewing and knitting by hand, something he knew Miss Granger was a fond of herself.

Soon Hermione's hospital room began to amass a collection of drawings, paintings, poetry and other muggle crafts like pressed flowers. Most eye catching of all, was in pride of place on the foot of her bed was a large and rather wonky, handmade plush lioness. It was a bit of a monstrosity if he was honest with himself, part knitted and part sewn. The eyes were uneven and one leg was shorter than the other three, but it had been made entirely by hand, the muggle way, by a contingent of young slytherins and he knew that she would love it when she awoke. They'd even approached professor sprout and obtained some dried valerian and lavendar to place inside the lionness so it would smell soothing. 

He sat down and began to read to her, he still read his books every night, but he'd made a promise to his snakes and he upheld it. So every night before he started on the books, he would read out the various letters that students had wrote to her. 

Only this time as he was reading a letter from the youngest greengrass, he felt a tingling on the back of his neck and looked up to see soft amber eyes looking at his.

She was awake. 


	9. Chapter 9

_He sat down and began to read to her, he still read his books every night, but he'd made a promise to his snakes and he upheld it. So every night before he started on the books, he would read out the various letters that students had wrote to her._

_Only this time as he was reading a letter from the youngest Greengrass, he felt a tingling on the back of his neck and looked up to see soft amber eyes looking at his._

_She was awake._

* * *

For a moment their eyes locked, then hers suddenly darted away and the machines began to beep as her heart-rate increased. She was trying to look around but was hindered by the tubes and wires attached to her. Before her panic could worsen he quickly placed a gentling hand on her shoulder, encouraging her to be still.

"Calm yourself, Hermione"

She had long since stopped being "Miss Granger" in his head, especially after the selfless actions she had taken, however he realised with an internal curse that he'd just referred to her as "Hermione" out loud. It did the trick though, as she quickly met his gaze once more, her panicked eyes searching his for reassurance that he was quick to give.

"I apologise Miss Granger, you are in the hospital wing at Hogwarts in a special room that was built to care for you."

She moved to nod in responce, but was once more panicked by the tubes and wires so making a quick decision, he sat beside her and grasped her hand in his. Once more his actions had her quickly snapping her attention to him.

"Squeeze once for yes, and twice for no...do you understand?"

A look of relief covered her features and he felt a weak squeeze of his hand.

"Very good Miss Granger. Do you know who I am?"

Her eyes narrowed at him then, and he couldn't help but chuckle at her offended look when she squeezed his hand sharply in indignation.

"Peace Granger, you've been through the ringer and I just wanted to be sure the know-it-all was still in residence, you've been out of it for over a month. The Chimaera blood seeped into your system and we could not use magic to heal you. We've had to treat you the muggle way, so this room was built with magic dampeners so we could run the muggle electrical equipment"

Her eyes widened then, and he could see the questions running through her mind.

"Let me get Poppy, and then we can discuss this further"

Her hand tightened on his, and at first he thought it was her acquiescence, until he realised with a start when he got up, that she hadn't let go. He turned and saw her panicked gaze focused on him and he quickly sat back down beside her, much to her relief.

"Alright, alright. She'll be through soon enough anyway to check on you and give you your meds, try to keep calm Granger you're still healing"

It was then she seemed to realise fully her own state, as she once more looked herself over and took in the number of muggle machines attached to her body, along with the cast that was still on her leg. It was during that assessment that she noticed the wonky lioness stationed at the foot of her bed.

For a moment her gaze was fixed upon it, then she looked at him questioningly and he chuckled wryly.

He wasn't sure whether it was the lioness or his laugh that confused her more.

"Aah yes. I see you've noticed Artemis" He could see that the name wasn't lost on her, not that that should've surprised him, she was the brightest witch of her age after all.

He brought the lioness from the foot of the bed, and held it in his hands as he regarded the soft toy, He began to speak and she watched him carefully.

"Artemis of course is the Greek's name for Diana, the Goddess of the hunt. Also revered as the chaste, goddess of the woods, the moon, and leader of wild animals...and the protector of children"

She met his eyes then and he saw the shine in them that signified that she was holding back tears, barely.

"The children made it for you, the ones you saved." Her eyes met his for clarification and he once more began to speak.

"With the amount of things that the Slytherins were bringing back from Hogsmede It was beginning to look like Madam Puddifoots in here, with the amount of sweets and flowers around the place, so I told the children that you were not one for material things and perhaps would appreciate the thought behind their actions, more than the galleons...was I wrong?"

She went to shake her head and was hindered once more, so gave his hand two quick squeezes. Then her hand reached shakily towards him, and he quickly passed her Artemis, whom she held as close to her side with her one hand as she could.

"She is not the only addition I am afraid. There are letters, poems, paintings... quite frankly the Slytherin common room has began to look so much like an episode of Blue Peter* that I don't know whether I should be docking house points for the mess or handing out badges for the creativity"

Her lips quirked at that and she offered him a smile, the best she could around the intubation tube anyway, and he couldn't help but return it with a small smirk.

He turned serious though, as he decided to be candid with her.

"What you did Granger...I have no words for. The whole of Slytherin house is in your debt"

There was a frustrated noise from her, and she squeezed his hand "no" but he knew what she meant, despite her lack of voice.

"I know that you did not do it for the thanks Granger, and that is precisely why we as a house are so indebted to you. No-one does anything for Slytherin, at least not without expecting something in return, your selfless actions...your heroism...Gods girl do you even know what you've done?"

Her eyes were wide as he regarded her closely.

"When I told you this room was built for you.. I mean this whole room and everything in it was paid for by Slytherin Alumni, and when it became clear that you would not respond to magical treatment, people were lining up to donate blood. Slytherins were port keying to the castle to donate the muggle way. Along with a hefty dose of Chimaera, you also have the blood of half the sacred 28 running through your veins."

She clutched the lioness closer to her, side as she stared transfixed at the potions master as he continued to speak emphatically.

"Because of what you did, the children you saved with no thought to prejudice or to your own life...Slytherin House has  _shunned_  the Dark Lord. Granger... More than half of his followers have withdrawn their support. Families are turning over to the light , or going grey and refusing to stand for either side. For Merlin's sake the Malfoys kicked him out of their house and warded the door behind him! Hermione...You may have singlehandedly won this war for the light."

* * *

**_For all you non UK people that might not get the reference, Blue Peter is a very famous British children's TV show that's been running since the late 50's, and is still going. It's famous for it's arts and crafts tutorials for children, showing them how to make things out of cardboard boxes etc. And all children that feature on the show are given a blue peter badge. It's the top running children's show in the UK and since snape was half blood, born in 1960 and raised in a muggle house, it stands to reason that both snape and hermione would have watched the show as children._ **


	10. Chapter 10

_"Because of what you did, the children you saved with no thought to prejudice or to your own life...Slytherin House has shunned the Dark Lord. Granger... More than half of his followers have withdrawn their support. Families are turning over to the light , or going grey and refusing to stand for either side. For Merlin's sake the Malfoys kicked him out of their house and warded the door behind him! Hermione...You may have singlehandedly won this war for the light."_

* * *

She was overwhelmed with emotion at his declaration, and even as tears slid from her eyes she dropped her gaze from his, unable to meet it. She was surprised when she felt the touch of a soft fabric at her face, and found the source to be a white cotton handkerchief, gently drying her tears. "I apologise, I did not mean to cause you upset" He spoke softly, as he gently wiped at her tears with motions that seemed far more tender than the usually harsh man should have been capable of.

"I owe you an apology, Miss Granger" He started softly, as he carefully returned to his seat beside her. It was then he noticed with a small smile that she was still clutching the plush lioness to her side. "Over the years I have oft been, at the best unfair and at the worst outright cruel towards you." Her wide eyes met his then, and the shock at this declaration was clear in her amber gaze. "It was only my position in the war, that kept me from giving you the respect you deserve, along with the praise you have so rightfully earned. You  _are_  the brightest witch of your age, make no doubts about that. In fact a number of your essay's that I have been forced in the past to ridicule, spoke of many of your thoughts and theories of which I would be pleased to discuss with you at your leisure. But scholarly talent aside, you have more heart than any witch or wizard I've ever known, your actions now and in the past can attest to that...You truly are extraordinary Miss Granger." At finally hearing the acknowledgement she'd long sought from him, her eyes leaked tears then once more and he was again forced to gently wipe her face with his hanky.

"Are you in any pain right now?" She squeezed his hand gently in responce, and at her confirmation he quickly assessed his next actions. "With your hand Miss Granger, can you indicate for me a number that your pain level is right now, between 1 and 5? 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest?" She raised her hand carefully, brandishing all 5 digits. Upon seeing that, he quickly stepped to the door, without leaving the room, and shouted out for Poppy.

The pain level she was in was concerning to him. He knew from personal experience that she was a very tough and strong willed girl, with a high tolerance of pain born of sheer stubbornness, and an intense apathetic desire not to cause others concern, so for her to admit to her pain being 5 out of 5, he was certain of her suffering. His mind flashed back to her past injuries.

* * *

_The hospital wing was closed, and strongly warded, against both sound and intrusion. Severus and Poppy were seeing to the business of un-petrifying the students. It was harrowing. There was little that could be done for the petrified students whilst they were this way. Being petrified by a basilisk was entirely different to being petrified by a stunner. The screams began as soon as the potion un-petrified them, as their small bodies arched in a richtus of agony as the shooting pains traversed their limbs as sensation returned. Weeks held still as statues had caused their muscles to atrophy, and the pain of their reawakening was agonising. They had potions to cure the damage and relieve the pain, but getting them into students that were screaming and thrashing was not easy._ _It took both Severus and Poppy's hard to work to physically pin the children and force feed them the potions, without them choking on them, at which point they would promptly sedate them._

_When it came to Miss Granger, Poppy paused him with a hand on his arm. "A moment" Her voice was small and he could detect the worry in it. "She will be the worst" The words finally escaped her. He arched his eyebrow. "Miss Granger has been petrified for the least amount of time..." But he trailed off when Poppy shook her head sadly. "Her arm Severus..." He turned to gaze at the girl, then muttered a sharp oath. He hadn't looked closely at any of the students, though it became clear what poppy's meaning had been as soon as he looked at her. Hermione Granger's arm was extended, where she'd been holding the mirror that had saved her life. The arm was fully extended, and held higher than her heart. The atrophy in the limb would be much worse than any of the others, none had limbs extended so._

_"On my count?" Severus nodded and on Poppy's quickly spoken 3, they administered the potion. The girl gasped and cried out in pain as feeling returned to her body, but much to their astonishment, her amber eyes quickly found the pair of them, scanning from the empty potions vial in their hands, and up to their eyes. She was biting her lip as tremors shook her body, and she looked upon him with total trust for reassurance. He cringed as her arm was still outstretched, locked into position by the atrophy, but her fingers were being wracked with spasms in a horrific way, he noted in a morbid fashion that it was in a sickening parody of Nosferatu. Soft whimpers escaped her as she looked to him for guidance, and sweat was beading on her skin, but she did not scream._

_"Drink this Miss Granger" He said, pressing the vial to her lips, which to his astonishment the still shaking girl drank without question. He repeated the process with the next vials and was more than a little surprised when just as they began to sedate her, she offered him a slightly drugged smile and said "Thank you" . Poppy shook her head in wonder as the girl drifted into unconsciousness. "There's something about that one Severus" She said softly. "You mark my words"_

**oOo**

_As he walked through the doors to the Hospital wing, it confounded him why Albus had brought them all back to the Hogwarts rather than taking them to St. Mungos. As the most capable student there, he discovered that at the mediwitch's request she was assisting Poppy with the various injuries that students who fought at the ministry had been dealt with. She was pale, and her eyes looked bloodshot, though as he watched for a few moments he noted that she continued on without complaint despite the way she would occasionally flinch at certain movements, her black clothes gave nothing away. Seething he found himself lurching forward and grabbing her by the wrist to halt her movement, as she assisted in seeing to a now sedated Ginerva Weasley's ankle. She was the last to be treated it seemed, as all others had either left or were sleeping._

_Her eyes snapped to his, and Poppy exclaimed in shock at his actions. "With me, both of you, NOW." His tone brokered no argument, though he noticed she seemed to pale a bit at his words. He lead them into the private room, pushed her in first and warded it behind them._ _"Remove your shirt Miss Granger" She looked at him in shock, as Poppy barked at him. "Severus! What is the meaning of this?"_ _He sneered, ignoring the mediwitch as his eyes fixed on Hermione in front of them, with her back to the bed. "I have just come from a rather **interesting**  meeting, and who should be bragging about his achievements, other than Antonin Dolohov" Hermione dropped back a bit then, until she was leaning against the bed, half sat upon it. "Hermione?" Poppy questioned, but the quiet girl simply shook her head and didn't answer. "Severus?" She questioned, but was met only with a scathing look. "Pray tell me Poppy, why you have allowed a student with a potentially life threatening injury, to forgo treatment in favour of assisting you with bruises, scraped and turned ankles?" It was clear Poppy had no clue what he was talking about, as he turned back to the girl half sat on the end of the bed._

_"Remove..your..shirt.. or I shall do it for you." She reacted then, came to stand and slowly and painfully began to unbutton the black blouse she was wearing. Poppy gasped and he was struck dumb when she removed the aforementioned garment. A large wound stretched from her bellybutton to her heart, between her breasts. The wound was not deep and bleeding as he feared, but instead it looked as though she had 3rd degree burns in a perfectly ruler straight injury that bisected her torso._

_"Merlin's beard girl!" Poppy had jumped to action and pushed her back onto the bed into a reclining position, but Hermione's eyes had never left his own. a silent challenge in them. He sneered and walked over to her, unashamed to look upon her as Poppy fretted over her. "You were lucky, Dolohov must have been distracted" He said with a sneer, his fear for their wellbeings turned into anger at his feelings of helplessness. "He wasn't distracted. I silenced him" His eyes snapped to hers then, but there was no hint of deception in them. As the dittany hissed as it hit her wound, her hands fisted in the covers and she grit her teeth against the pain. Internally he winced in sympathy, he was all too familiar with the harsh bite of dittany in a sore wound, and he sympathised with her, more than once he'd yowled and screamed insults at Poppy when she was treating wounds of his, less severe than this one. She offered him a small smirk, and amused but pain filled eyes, as she spoke through gritted teeth. "Bet he forgot to mention that" She said breathlessly, then with another smile "That and the fact that he fought against a muggle-born 16 year old girl and **didn't**  win" He snorted in amusement as he turned and left the hospital wing. _

_Once out of earshot he chuckled._ _Brave little Gryffindor._

* * *

For the girl in front of him to suggest her pain was at a level of 5 out of 5 , he could only assume that meant she was running on something much closer to 10 out of 5, if her previous fortitude was to go by. 

This time he sat by her side, only to jump out of his skin when a loud smash filled the air. Poppy had walked into the room, and promptly dropped the glass of water she was carrying upon seeing the somewhat alert girl in the bed. 

"Hermione, you're awake?!"


	11. Chapter 11

_For the girl in front of him to suggest her pain was at a level of 5 out of 5 , he could only assume that meant she was running on something much closer to 10 out of 5, if her previous fortitude was to go by._

_This time he sat by her side, only to jump out of his skin when a loud smash filled the air. Poppy had walked into the room, and promptly dropped the glass of water she was carrying upon seeing the somewhat alert girl in the bed._

_"Hermione, you're awake?!"_

* * *

The chimaera blood in her system it seemed was, along with preventing them from using healing spells on her, burning off the morphine at an accelerated rate. Her body temperature was raised a few degrees higher than it should be, though she currently showed no signs of fever. Animagi were usually a couple of degrees warmer than the standard witch or wizard, but Hermione was warmer still. She was warm to the touch, Severus recalled, as he'd placed his hand upon her arm earlier when they were speaking, another side effect it seemed of the influx of Chimaera blood that seeped into her system. Severus and Poppy shared a worried glance, as they considered what as yet unknown other possible side effects they may have to deal with in the future. It was not a reassuring thought.

Poppy, once she'd recovered from her initial shock, had promptly summoned the squib surgeon who had quickly made his way to Hogwarts, to attend the now awakened Hermione. After effectively being shooed out of the room by Poppy, a fact that galled him no end, Severus was surprised when Hermione's eyes met his with something akin to panic in them at his departure, that had him itching to reassure her.

"I shall return tonight, at the usual time" he told her softly, out of earshot of Poppy and under the guise of adjusting her blanket, Severus was even more surprised to see that she relaxed somewhat at his words.  _Wonders never cease._  Though mere moments later he did realise his mistake, and fight the subsequent blush that wanted to arise upon his cheeks when he realised that she likely had no way of knowing what their usual time was, being in a coma and all, and that he'd just admitted to her that he was a frequent visitor to her bedside throughout her confinement in the hospital wing.

He straightened his cloak, and left the room with a haughty sniff, without looking back at the girl on the bed. The girl who, unbeknown to her, he had spoken to more in the last month than any other person in the last year.

 _Coward._  He thought to himself, as he made no attempts to argue with Poppy's decision of throwing him out of the room. He should be there, he  _ought_  to be there...in fact as Head of Slytherin House, he was duty bound to be there. But none of that changed the fact that... he simply could not stomach the thought of being in the room, when Poppy told the girl the true extent of her injuries and the repercussions on her body and her life.

And that was before they even brought Minerva in and began to talk of how Gryffindor were effectively ostracising her.

He should stay, shocking as it was to him she'd looked into his eyes and wanted him to stay

He didn't.

_Coward._

**oOo**

When Hermione's condition had become more stable, Poppy had stopped sharing as much of her health information with the other staff members, much to their consternation. When they were afraid she was dying, she needed all the help she could get and that took precedence. As soon as she was stable, thought albeit in a coma, Poppy had deigned not to give them any more information, stating her oath as a mediwitch not to discuss patient's conditions without prior consent, they were aware of her current condition in terms of severity, though were given little more information.

So Severus was surprised, when Poppy greeted him on his return to the hospital wing that evening. He often popped in at some point during the day , and on weekends, though he spent numerous hours sat with her  ** _every_**  night without fail and had until this point thought Poppy was unaware of the true extent of his nocturnal activities. He tried to shift the reading material into his coat pocket subtly, but the mediwitch gave him a look along with an arched eyebrow that clearly said 'Who do you think you're trying to fool'.

After a short greeting, Poppy informed him that Hermione had approved him on her medical files, along with Minerva (though interestingly enough,  _not_  Albus) to discuss her medical state, and after warning him not to tax her too much, Poppy waved him into Hermione's room and turned off the lights on the ward as she retired to her own bed.

The girl was awake, though seemed much more disquieted than she had been earlier. Her head was laid on the pillow as she stared at the parchment on the bed sheets below her hand. She turned as she met his eyes upon his entrance, and he didn't even have time to become uncomfortable with the total newness of her being _aware_  of his presence, before she quickly returned to dropping her eyes to her hand on the bed beside her. There was an aura of sadness hanging around her, and he heaved out a breath as he quietly seated himself beside her.

Once more, whiskey brown eyes met his, before dropping back to the coverlet.  _They'd told her then, though how much?_ He wondered. He wiped his hand across his face and breathed out deeply. "I assume Poppy spent some time discussing things with you today?" She nodded, but didn't meet his gaze. A few machines and wires were lacking, but she still had the tube down her throat preventing her from talking. She was yet to be cleared from the lung infection, and as she was missing half a lung they were not taking any chances it seemed. It was then she pushed the parchment beneath her hand towards him, and he took it in his hand. To his surprise it was a detailing of her medical condition, along with some transcribed conversations from the day. The notes said, once given a quill and parchment, she'd requested a copy for herself, to read at her leisure. Though it was now clear, she'd done it for his benefit, unaware that Poppy already knew he was planning on covertly returning.

He took the medical file, and glanced at the front page before flicking his eyes to hers. "You do not need to show me this, you're entitled to your privacy" He went to offer it back, but he hand on his stopped him, so he began to read. Certain words and phrases popped out at him, that made his heart wrench in sympathy.

_High Risk Patient, immune system highly compromised, unknown if permanent...Blood Works / Hormone levels all irregular... **Permanent Scarring...** Future complications with movement highly possible, use of cane most probable...Shadow on lung, possible lesion from pneumonia, further removable may be required...Total hysterectomy confirmed, **0% Chance of conception...** Short test outside suppressed room showed patient is still unresponsive to magic, possible magical exhaustion due to illness,  **though total magic loss/suppression is distinct possibility.**_

Certain phrases were smudged, as though her fingers had ran over them time and time again.  _Permanent Scarring...0% Chance...total magic loss..._

To Severus, it was horrifying to imagine this girl, this  _warrior,_  doomed to spend the rest of her life a crippled and barren squib. So to her it must have been devastating. Though when the girl's hand alighted on his pocket, he almost jumped, though quickly calmed when he realised she was reaching the the pen he'd placed there for this sole purpose, knowing she might have difficulty communicating with him.

Pulling out the notebook in his pocket, he offered both to the girl and when he read her short and shaky words, he couldn't help but bark out a sob, as they snuck past his defences with deadly efficiency.

_'What can I do Professor, how will I be able to help people now?'_

In spite of everything, Hermione still referred to him with respect even on paper and she still thought of everyone else above herself. Though certain things obviously bothered her, attested by the worn and smudged words,  _Permanent Scarring...0% Chance...total magic loss..._ Her primary concern had been to find out how she could continue to help others.

Severus found himself, quite without reservation, lifting her small hand to his face and placing a soft kiss on the back of it, as one might to royalty, before placing his other hand atop it, as she looked at him with wide-eyed innocence.

"I assure you Miss Granger, I have never come across anyone who is more able to help people than you are. Do not ever believe yourself useless, for I think you alone have saved and will save, more people than anyone in this world, myself included."

She smiled softly then, and he found himself returning it, before clearing his throat and surreptitiously wiping the sheen of tears from his eyes."Let us get on with the business of your fan mail shall we Miss Granger?" He found himself asking, as he got to reading her the large stack of letters from his young slytherins, starting once again from the bottom of the pile. 

He did not question why she had not let go of his hand, nor did he deign to let go of hers either. 


	12. Chapter 12

_"I assure you Miss Granger, I have never come across anyone who is more able to help people than you are. Do not ever believe yourself useless, for I think you alone have saved and will save, more people than anyone in this world, myself included."_

_She smiled softly then, and he found himself returning it, before clearing his throat and surreptitiously wiping the sheen of tears from his eyes."Let us get on with the business of your fan mail shall we Miss Granger?" He found himself asking, as he got to reading her the large stack of letters from his young slytherins, starting once again from the bottom of the pile._

_He did not question why she had not let go of his hand, nor did he deign to let go of hers either._

* * *

He dutifully read through her 'fan mail' as he called it, the letters and poems and other items from the students. Each one after he had read it aloud, she would take from him gently and run her fingers over the letters with a soft smile. Artemis was still tucked into her side, the fingers of her other hand gently petting the mismatched fur of stuffed animal, which made his lips quirk in amusement. He had been right in his assumption, and though she smiled at the small pile of chocolates and other trinkets, it was the letters and poems and other pieces of art that made her really smile. As much as she could whilst intubated anyway.

By way of written instruction, she'd asked for the pieces of art to be put on the walls of her room so she could look at them. Spellotape was not an option in the magically dampened room, and neither were sticking charms, so after a quick apparition and trip to a muggle stationary shop, Severus found himself snorting in amusement after hanging up numerous pictures on the wall of her room, when he exited the hospital wing to a number of fascinated pure-bloods playing with muggle sticky tack.

**oOo**

Two weeks after she regained consciousness, she was still on limited visitation, meaning the only visitors she was currently allowed were Severus and Minerva in an effort to control secondary infection. They had settled into something of a routine, which he was reluctant to admit, he was rather fond of. Despite the circumstances of course.

Every morning he would check on her after his breakfast, quickly dropping her his copy of the daily prophet for her to read. He would go about his morning classes, then at dinner he would drop off his morning's assignments, if they were from the lower years. He'd return to teaching the afternoon classes, fulfil all his head of house duties, which now included being carrier pigeon for all of Hermione's fan mail. He'd then return to the Hospital wing, and finally mark all of his higher years work, and Hermione would have all the lower year's work from earlier graded for him, whilst she looked on enviously at the higher level papers he was grading, and then the evening was theirs. He would read everything to her, from classic muggle literature like Shakespeare, to modern potions journals, and she eagerly soaked everything up. Most nights she would fall asleep to the sound of his voice. Some nights, so would he.

It had been a week into her awakening that Severus could see she was practically bored to tears. He'd been tired and crabby, grading papers he'd gotten behind on, due in part to his frequent presence in the hospital wing, when she had very slowly picked up one of his papers and a spare quill. Her movements were very slow and deliberate, giving him every chance to stop her, and he was bemusedly reminded of a documentary on chameleons, and the way they had walked to avoid being seen by predators. She kept looking to see if he was watching her, and carefully brought the first year paper to herself before cautiously beginning grading it. When she'd completed it, she carefully placed it by his hand. When he picked it up to scan her work, he could tell from the look on her face that had the machine not been controlling her breathing, she would have been holding her breath. He grunted his approval at her efforts, and placed the paper on the top of his finished pile, handing her the next one immediately. He couldn't help but smirk slightly at the wide smile she offered him then, as she attacked the rest of the papers with gusto while he went and got some coffee. It turns out that she was a dab hand at grading,  _obviously,_  she was fair (with all the houses), and even though she was not as.. _.sharp_  as him in her admonishments, she didn't suffer fools either, and wasn't afraid of using the red ink.

When Minerva had found out she had at first admonished him, though when she saw the completed works that Hermione had done, he was bemused to find a pile of first year transfiguration essays on her bedside the next day.

Followed by charms, and then Herbology.

The teachers were thrilled, and so was Hermione.

And she still looked on hungrily at the OWLS level papers he was grading.

"Not a chance, Know it all" He said without looking at her, and he heard the soft chuff of her chuckle in answer.

**oOo**

Soon Poppy was going to attempt to remove the intubation tube. If she could breath and eat without assistance, she would be cleared for general visitation. His Slytherins were chomping at the bit to see her, both young and old alike, and there was also an emerald coloured kneazle that had taken up residence underfoot in his quarters, and could commonly be found in the Slytherin common room, that was also eager to see it's mistress. Yet Severus continued to be bothered by the elephant in the room, the thing they had not yet spoken about. The fact that soon she would be allowed to have visitors...and yet the two people she would like to see most of all, would be highly unlikely to be among them.


	13. Chapter 13

_Soon Poppy was going to attempt to remove the intubation tube. If she could breath and eat without assistance, she would be cleared for general visitation. His Slytherins were chomping at the bit to see her, both young and old alike, and there was also an emerald coloured kneazle that had taken up residence underfoot in his quarters, and could commonly be found in the Slytherin common room, that was also eager to see it's mistress. Yet Severus continued to be bothered by the elephant in the room, the thing they had not yet spoken about. The fact that soon she would be allowed to have visitors...and yet the two people she would like to see most of all, would be highly unlikely to be among them._

* * *

Minerva was sat beside him in the staff room as they drank their morning coffee. She was still having no luck getting through to her Gryffindors, in regards to Hermione. The fact that Slytherin families were spending so much money and time on her, were also a sticking point that was getting the backs of the lions up.

"Longbottom wants to see her" She said to him. "But he's too afraid, I think. Weasley, Mclaggen and Finnegan are being very vocal against her, and they're simply so loud and emphatic that many of the younger children who I think might care to see her, daren't go against their wishes "

"Longbottom is not younger, he's a man grown" Severus pointed out.

"But with the heart of a Hufflepuff" Pomona Sprout chimed in. "I've always said that boy should've been one of mine, no offence Minerva"

"None taken Pomona, I agree with you, sometimes I wonder what the hat was thinking."

"I'm not so sure" Flitwick chimed in. "I had always said that Hermione should've been mine, she'd've been well suited as a 'claw, and yet as much as I love my house, there is not one I could say would've fought as she did. That's the lion heart in her, the hat saw it in her"

There were mumbled agreements to that, as Severus grimaced while he drank his black coffee.

"That's your second one this morning" Hooch pointed out, and Severus merely grunted.

She raised an eyebrow. "Today's the day then?" and he just inclined his head in answer, too caught up in his own mind to say anything further.

**oOo**

He was stood beside her bed, in just his frock coat. He'd taken to removing his outer robes, they were uncomfortable to sit in for any length of time. Though for the first time he was a little self conscious, not due to the fact that once or twice he'd caught her looking at him and blushing, but in part to the fact that when offered Minerva or him for today, she'd chosen  _him._

Poppy had asked her who she'd like by her for support while they removed the feeding tube and intubation tube and he'd been shocked when she had chosen him.

It was going to be uncomfortable and unpleasant. Even more so if it do not go to plan, and they had to replace the tubes.

She'd already had the catheter removed, and was doing well without it, and this was the next step in her recovery.

When Poppy had told him that Hermione had chosen him, he asked her why on his visit that night, as he could not contain his curiosity over why she would choose him, over the gryffindor matriarch .

Hermione, by means of her notebook had simply told him. "I trust you". When that had him lost for words, she'd expanded on her reasoning.

"I feel safe with you, and I trust you. I trust you to be yourself. Don't mistake me, I love Minerva but I don't want platitudes, or to be coddled or merlin help me,  _pitied_ , like I would get from Minerva. Please, I need you to ground me, to just.. be _you_  Severus."

He'd been struck dumb. Then had simply nodded, pushing back the emotion that was vying to release. At some point from her awakening, he'd allowed her the use of his name. And she ha become Hermione to him. It was a mark of respect, and friendship and Hermione seemed to look at him as though all her christmases had come at once, each time she referred to him by his given name, even if so far it was only on paper.

**oOo**

She was trembling a little, as Poppy was putting her gloves on. And her hand reached for his. "Do pull yourself together Granger, you're shaking like a shitting dog" He snapped at her, though did not release her hand from his. Her eyes flicked to his, but it was not hurt that read there, only gratitude and he watched as she visibly steeled herself.

The intubation tube was the first to go, and it made her cough and splutter, as her eyes watered. "Alright Granger?" He asked and she just shook her head as she fought the coughing, panic taking hold and making her wheeze terribly "Take deep breaths. You do remember how to breathe, Granger?" She shot him a sideways glare, the ferocity of which he wasn't sure whether it was increased or softened by the pained tears in her eyes.

"Deep rhythmic breaths" He encouraged, rubbing circles on her back. "inhale for three, then exhale for three" She steeled herself, nodded and followed his instructions. Within a few minutes, she was breathing regularly on her own.

"Alright" Poppy said gently. "Give it half an hour, and if you're still ok we'll try something to simple to eat alright?" Hermione just nodded. "Thank You Poppy" Severus said, as the mediwtich left.

Once she was gone, Severus turned to the girl on the bed. Her breathing was still irregular, as she got into the habit of controlling her own breathing once more, though it was not strained as it had been before.

"I apologise if I was harsh with you, I merely wished to distract you from the procedure" She took a small sip of the water he handed her. "I-it's ok. T-thank you for h-helping" Her words were shaky, and there was a slight rasp that hinted at her as yet still healing injuries to her throat.

Smiling softly he raised a handkerchief to her face, where her trembling hands had spilled a little water. "It is good to hear your voice, Hermione".

"T-thank y-you, s-s-severus" It was still not easy for her to form words and she frowned in frustration as her hand fisted angrily in the bedding.

"None of that" He said, picking up her hand and taking it in his own as he sat. "It will come with time, do not push yourself, we have your notepad still"

She nodded and a gentle hand on her shoulder, urged her back into the bed to lay down.

"Rest. Your chest muscles and diaphragm are unused to doing the work themselves after a many weeks long vacation, do not over exert yourself"

Hermione went willingly with his wishes and relaxed back into the bed. Picking up a book he began to read to her, encouraging her to focus on her breathing.

All too soon, Poppy was returning to remove the tube down her nose. A wide eyed Hermione quickly grasped for his hand, which he gave willingly, before she slammed her eyes shut as the mediwitch talked her through the removal of the nasogastric tube that had her retching and sobbing.

"I know dear, it's horrible isn't it, my poor girl" The matron cooed good naturedly.

Well if looks could kill, Poppy would already be buried as Severus stifled a chuckle at the vicious side-eye that Hermione was giving through her tears, to the matron over her baby talk.

Luckily Poppy got the gist, and quickly made herself scarce, after leaving a bowl of gruel like substance on the side table.

Hermione, having already spent all her energy was leaning back against the bed, now set in a reclining position. She was still shivering from the horrible sensation of the tube being removed, as she wiped her streaming face and nose with a shaky hand. Severus grabbed the bowl of gruel, quickly hiding his sneer of distaste.

"Well, unless you're already missing your last accessory, it's time to eat up Granger, looks tasty"

"Y-you can dial it back a n-notch" She glared at him and he chuckled.

"My apologies. But in all sincerity, unless you wish to get quickly reacquainted with that feeding tube, you need to successfully ingest some of this... _substance_... as appetising as it appears to be"

She was still wiping her face of tears, or so he thought when he noticed her hands were lingering on the marked side of her face. The stitches had recently come out, but the vicious claw wounds had left a disfiguring scar along cheek and jaw.

A moment later she noticed his look, and her shaking hand fell away. "Y-you must think me so vain" She said softly, unable to meet his gaze. His hand pressed under her chin and tipped up her gaze to his own. "Not at all little lioness, I understand" He said softly, then gestured to his left arm. "For I assure you, I would not be wearing longsleeved robes in summer, otherwise"

She squeezed his hand, and went to reach for the gruel, but his hand stopped her before her trembling one could reach the spoon. "Allow me" he said gently.

And she blushed. "You don't h-have to-" but he quickly cut her off. "It is no bother, though I would appreciate if you would hurry up and acquiesce to this meal, for each second you delay I fear it is about to vacate this spoon and attempt to devour my soul." He said with a grimace at the gelatinous goop, which made Hermione chuckle. Wryly he added "Do not make me resort to making aeroplane noises like I had to do with Draco"

She chuckled and accepted a mouthful of the gruel with only a small wince. "You fed Draco when he was a baby?" She asked curiously. "He was a first year actually, just terribly entitled" She laughed then again at his deadpan delivery and he smiled, as they continued to talk freely for the first time.


	14. Chapter 14

**_Warning - Graphic descriptions of injuries in this chapter_ **

* * *

_"It is no bother, though I would appreciate if you would hurry up and acquiesce to this meal, for each second you delay I fear it is about to vacate this spoon and attempt to devour my soul." He said with a grimace at the gelatinous goop, which made Hermione chuckle. Wryly he added "Do not make me resort to making aeroplane noises like I had to do with Draco"_

_She chuckled and accepted a mouthful of the gruel with only a small wince. "You fed Draco when he was a baby?" She asked curiously. "He was a first year actually, just terribly entitled" She laughed then again at his deadpan delivery and he smiled, as they continued to talk freely for the first time._

* * *

Hermione had been off the ventilator for two weeks now, and had remained stable and able to breath independently without it. She'd had to have an oxygen mask on for the first couple of nights, as her O2 levels had dropped, but after 48 hours she was in the clear. She'd also managed to keep down the nutrition boosting gruel the hospital wing had provided her with, that she had in private (meaning her and Severus) nicknamed Soylent Green, much to his continued amusement.

A week of soylent green three times a day, had seen her cleared to go onto bland normal foods, and she'd nearly wept at the mashed potatoes and soup the house elves provided. She'd even kissed Severus on the cheek, leaving his face flaming, when he smuggled in a bar of honeydukes for her, after all 'contraband' had been removed from her room once she was awake, lest it appear too tempting whilst she was still supposed to be on the soylent green. The deep humm of pleasure and moan of appreciation she'd made eating the chocolate, with her eyes closed and a dreamy look on her face, had left his face still flaming and feeling appreciative of voluminous teaching robes for their concealment abilities.

Now two weeks had passed, with Hermione being as stable as she could be in her condition, tomorrow her visitation was going to be opened to students once more. And Severus...was having mixed feelings about it. In short and simple terms,  and much to his own great surprise, he realised that he was jealous. And he wanted things to continue as they were, for he didn't want to share her.

In the past two weeks, the only ones able to visit had been staff, which had gone some ways to appeasing the student body that actually wanted to see her. Both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students having enquired after her, and Pomona and Filius had been happy to pass on well wishes to the girl from their house.

Minerva still visited frequently, and had passed on the message that Neville wanted to know if it was alright to come and see her when he was allowed, which Hermione had, after a moment's hesitation, agreed to.

Though in these past two weeks, it was Severus that had found himself sequestered in the Hospital wing, every spare moment he had. And quite often in moments that weren't exactly spare, which would've put him behind had it not been for her continued assistance with grading work. Now that he was free of his position as spy, he was finally allowed to converse with her without the shadow of his death eater persona behind him.

She took his breath away. He'd always known that like himself, she was incredibly intelligent and gifted. But until he was free to openly discuss topics and debate with her he hadn't fathomed just how brilliant she was. She was a prodigy, she even had an eidetic memory he discovered, much to his jealousy. He loved speaking with her. Though Minerva and Filius were both intelligent in their own right, and masters of their subjects, she had a gifted mind like himself. She functioned on a such a higher level than anyone he knew (other than himself, not to blow his own horn) that he wondered just how she'd stayed sane, doing the simple schoolwork that was so below her academic abilities, whilst surrounded by her dunderhead-ed peers. It was refreshing, and challenging having an honest to gods intellectual debate with her, over all manner of subjects.

He started allowing her to grade the higher level works.

She, as a 6th year, was grading 7th year work. And doing it phenomenally. With the help of her eidetic memory, she was also able to instantly spot plagiarism, no matter how small.

As they sat together, the last day before she would be overrun with enthusiastic students, he conversationally remarked on how useful it would be to have her perfect recall, and she'd winced and looked away. Mumbling some quiet agreement to his statement. Curious of her actions he questioned her about the sudden shift in her mood, and she turned and while giving him a sorrowful look, acquiesced to his request with a quiet explanation. "It's not just books and academia Severus, I remember everything in detail. What people say, what they wear and do, food I ate or films I saw...I remember everything to the minute detail... _Everything_ "

Her sad eyes had met his then, and as a natural legilimens, he'd unwittingly fallen into her gaze.

* * *

_It's tearing at her side with it's cloven feet. There's a sharp pain as the skin splits, from top to bottom like someone running scissors through paper. Some of her skin catches on the sharp point of the clam and it remains there, dragging for a moment, then it's down to muscle and sinew and that **burns**. Then a sudden release. As though she'd exhaled deeply...but not. She feels like a balloon that's deflating, or she imagines this is what a toothpaste tube feels like. There's a pressure and pull. She doesn't feel the organs themselves as such, as it presses at the wound, but she can feel the throb of it, the pulse on her skin in tune with her heartbeat._

_There's a curious feeling as her stomach literally drops, and she knows the organ has moved from where it should be, and her body instinctively screams at her that this feels wrong. Totally wrong wrong wrong.  
_

_Her feet go out from under her, and she sinks to the floor. Chin first. She snaps a twig when she lands and a few leaves are pushed into the air with a muted whoosh from the impact of her body on the floor._

_She's warmer on the inside than on the outside she realises and the skin briefly heats where the exposed organ touches it. they're warm enough and damp enough to steam slightly in the cold air where they're exposed, and she can't help but feel the almost smoke like visual is fitting considering how much it feels like a fire lit upon her side._

_The organ, she's not sure which one though she thinks its her intestine, though slippery and shiny it's somewhat tacky and it sticks to her fur, rather than slipping out further. There's not as much blood as she supposed there should be, though logic tells her there's no major arteries there, though plenty of veins. The organ it seems is tamponading the wound in the side, but she still feels the steady trickle of blood from the wound, it starts off warm as it escapes her side. She's laid on a slight incline where she fell, head higher on the hill than her back end, so the blood follows the path of her body, down her side, towards her hip where it turns slightly following the contours of her body and winds in a corkscrew as it follows the sinews down her leg. It's cold by the time it hits the ground, and pools, mostly between her toes. There's a cloying coppery scent of her blood in the air, and she feels it bubbling in her throat, it almost tickles. But the second the wound on her side was opened it also smells different, and she recalls it smells like walking into the butchers shop. She's just so much a bag of meat and flesh anyway._

_The wind rocks the trees and brings the smells of the forest, flowers, greenery and other animals and as the branches part for a moment, the sunlight shines through and alights on the pool of blood steadily increasing below her, one beneath her legs ,the other below her head.  The reflections of  the sun light dancing on the surface making the blood look lighter in colour than it actually is. With this light it looks like fake blood they use in the movies, Corn syrup._

_When she breathes, leaves are blown away from her face and f_ _allen leaves crunch beneath her toes that curl and grasp at the ground as though attempting to hold on to something. Crisp and sharp they're in dichotomy to the soft earthy soil that she sinks slightly into as it squelches between her toes and up the side of her face. Dirt collects on her eyelashes and makes her blink, which was a bad idea as now the tacky blood is making it hard to open her eye. There's a sharp stone digging into her foot on one side that's aggravating her, as she mocks herself for being bothered by such a banal thing at a time such as this._

_The intestine, for that's what she's sure it may be, pushes out a little further when she changes the pressure onto her back legs so she's leaning more to one side as she tries to rise. It's darker than she imagined. All the pictures show it as pink or red, but instead it looks almost purpley blue. How very curious._

* * *

He breaks away with a gasp and dry heaves and retches. She simply turns away, "You should go" and he can hear her steady breathing as she attempts to control her emotions. 

When he's sure he's in control of himself he turns to the girl on the bed. She's not looking at him. He pushes his chair back as he stands, and getting up closes the door. Her shoulders slump, but when his footsteps return her eyes snap to his, and he sits on the edge of the bed.  Without a word, he cautiously lifts him arm in invitation and with a sorrowful whimper, she falls into his arms. Pressing her face against his chest, she holds tightly on to him and weeps. 


	15. Chapter 15

_When he's sure he's in control of himself he turns to the girl on the bed. She's not looking at him. He pushes his chair back as he stands, and getting up closes the door. Her shoulders slump, but when his footsteps return her eyes snap to his, and he sits on the edge of the bed. Without a word, he cautiously lifts him arm in invitation and with a sorrowful whimper, she falls into his arms. Pressing her face against his chest, she holds tightly on to him and weeps._

* * *

The 'ducklings' had been the first to see her of course, the 13 young students that she had saved. They'd gained the nickname 'Hermione's ducklings' from the other staff, and some of the older years, as they'd formed a habit of moving around everywhere in a group like lost little ducklings, almost aimlessly waiting for Hermione's return. They had bonded through their experience, and formed very close friendships. Each one had a part in creating Artemis for Hermione, and Helena especially had often been discovered attempting to sneak into Hermione's room throughout her convalescence.

Hermione had asked Severus to stay, when the ducklings were allowed to visit her for the first time. It had gone some ways to soothing his ruffled feathers and his jealousy. He knew it was irrational to be jealous of the children, after the ordeal they had all shared with her, but in the time they'd spent together after her awakening, just the two of them, him finally free from the yoke of both Dumbledore and Voldemort, they had become...dare he say it? Friends. And Severus Snape did not have many friends. So he had to admit to himself, the thought of her spending time with others instead of him, had made him jealous. Because he hadn't wanted to share her. Though when she had asked him to stay with her, for support when the ducklings visited, it had him fighting the urge to preen. Knowing that she valued his companionship, as much as he valued hers, gave him a warm feeling in his chest that he did not want to contemplate any further.

She was sat up in bed when they arrived at the hospital wing, and he beside her bed like a sentinel when they heard Poppy ushered them in to the ward. She'd been insisting on individuals taking turns so as not to overwhelm her, though one look at the collective faces of 13 ducklings had put an end to that train of thought. It was Hermione that had spoke up and told Poppy it was alright.

"Besides, I'll have Severus here to watch out for me" She'd said. Just so casual, her trust in him and it had him fighting a smirk or grin. Instead he had nodded sagely in acquiescence, with a put upon sigh. Poppy had fallen for it and gone to fetch the ducklings, Hermione hadn't. She snorted and elbowed him in the ribs when Poppy turned around, and he simply smirked which made her laugh. And the feeling it gave him, when he made her laugh...was pleasant.

The ducklings had arrived en-masse in the doorway, all 13 of them led by Helena who was clutching Crookshanks. The small girl was holding the grumpy half kneazle in the way only small children could get away with, arms wrapped tightly around him while his back legs dangled uselessly. The notoriously foul tempered cat, who was known for clawing unsuspecting gryffindor students, and shredding the curtains in gryffindor tower, was allowing the small slytherin girl to hold him in such a way, with only an annoyed flick of his tail to show his indignation at being carried thus.

Hermione had simply offered them a watery smile, especially at the sight of her now emerald green familiar, who seemed more content (though still understandably grumpy) in the arms of the young slytherins, that he ever had been in gryffindor tower.

They were amassed in the doorway, seemingly frozen in indecision, until Hermione broke the status quo with a shaky greeting, and a smile. That was all it took for 13 ducklings to swarm into the room. They had moved her into a larger room, without the magic dampeners, though the other room was still functioning and waiting for her when she needed it. Severus however was grateful for the extra space, as it allowed him to magically extend her bed enough for a load of students to bounce on it without aggravating her injuries. They were still unable to cast magic directly on her person, though thankfully now they were able to cast magic around her, such as changing her clothes with magic, or extending the bed. Though any attempts at casting diagnostics or healing spells, directly at her person, still fizzled out. Severus was grateful as the sensation of being in the magic dampened room was horrible, a strange gut deep feeling or loss and wrongness, and he empathised with the young woman beside him, for that must be how she felt all the time now since her injury.

Helena had carefully deposited the half kneazle in his lap, before after a moment's hesitation flinging her arms around Hermione, and sobbing her thanks to the young woman. It had broken the ice then, as the other slytherins, unused to such public displays of affection had followed suit, until Severus had been forced to extend the size of the bed again, to allow for all 13 ducklings to sit upon it.

Hermione was excellent with the young children, and informed them of a muggle tradition, which they had all eagerly pounced upon. Signing the cast on her leg, with the sharpie that she'd had him acquire when he was getting the sticky tack from the muggle stationers. He had to fight another smirk though. For she'd insisted he had been the first one to sign it. He'd sneered of course, and done it with a put upon sigh, as though it was some great hardship that he was indulging her in. Though she knew it was all an act, and he'd been pleased to be the first one. She knew it was an act. He knew that she knew. And he found that, he actually didn't mind. Especially if she continued to smile at him. So very few people in his life had ever smiled at him, yet with her it seemed to be a daily occurrence. Multiple times in fact. He just couldn't fathom it.

Most of the slytherin students had never used a muggle pen before, so the first thing they'd asked of course was 'where's the ink?' and had then proceeded to wax profusely over how 'amazing' the muggle device was, they had used pencils of course for the drawings they'd done her, though any writing for poems and letters had been done with quills.

She'd then been covered in various signatures, and the occasional drawing. Helena, who had adopted the nickname quite happily, had drawn a duckling in the middle of all their signatures, which made both Hermione and Severus smile indulgently.

They spent a good couple of hours sat beside her in bed talking about everything and nothing, and Severus had never seen his Slytherins so relaxed. She had one student resting on each shoulder, the others in various reclined positions around her. The smallest of the ducklings, and youngest, was a orphaned boy called Jacob Grey. He had blond hair as pale as the Malfoy's but as curly as Hermione's own. Grey was an orphan, who's parent's had been low level death eaters, killed by the Dark Lord when he was barely a toddler. He'd been raised by his great uncle, a drunk and a vile man who was practically a squib, though what he lacked in magical ability he made up for in brute strength. He was a devout death eater, and often enjoyed battering people to death with his bare fists, blaming muggles for 'stealing' his magic.

The boy like Helena was very small for his age, they both could have easily passed for 9 year olds rather than the 11 they actually were. Though for Helena it was because of her naturally small stature like Hermione herself, and bouts of sickness as a child.   
Severus suspected for Grey it was much like it had been for Harry Potter, sheer neglect and lack of care. He was the baby of the group for certain, he barely talked to anyone and was a student Severus closely kept his eye on. He was one of the few who had the password to Severus's chambers and office, should he need him at any time.   
Helena had taken him under her wing, and the 'baby duckling' followed his friend around everywhere. The other ducklings all called him baby, but it was a fond nickname and not an insulting one. He was laid beside Hermione with his arms gently around her waist and his head pillowed in her lap. And she was gently running her hands through his hair, while she talked to the others. She never pressured him to speak to her, but she seemed to instinctively know what he needed. Like Helena, he seemed to have a sort of Hero worship for Hermione, maybe even more so, to a degree. Despite being an ill child, Helena had grown up loved by the Malfoys, in a strong family unit, but when Hermione put herself between the children and the Chimaera, it was likely one of the few times that anyone showed any genuine caring for Grey's well-being in his entire life.

Grey had been one of the students able to donate blood to her. Though Poppy only took half a bag because of his small stature, he'd insisted on donating.   
His great uncle, once he found out, had disowned him and disinherited him for doing so.   
The boy was now a ward of the school, and Severus as his head of house was his legal guardian.    
The boy hated to be called Jacob, for he was named after his loathsome uncle from his mother's side and instead went by his surname of Grey, which he got from his father, or as Baby. He was a frightened and nervous boy, and by the way he shied away from people he'd often wondered what  _other_  ways he might've been hurt to make him so skittish, or if the man had simply turned his fists on the small boy, as Severus's own father had done. Though looking at him now, curled up unflinchingly in Hermione's lap with a smile, as she ran her hands through his hair, and surrounded by friends, he hoped this would be the start of something better for the boy.

Whilst Severus sat in the chair beside them all, her Kneazle was happily purring away in his lap. He had told her of course that she needed to hurry up and get better because her 'damned cat' was 'underfoot in his damned chambers' and 'getting his damned hair on everything' , though as the grumpy cat sat purring happily in his lap, kneading his legs as Severus rubbed his ears, an arched eyebrow from the woman beside him showed that the jig was up and he'd been discovered.  _Damn._


	16. Chapter 16

_Whilst Severus sat in the chair beside them all, her Kneazle was happily purring away in his lap. He had told her of course that she needed to hurry up and get better because her 'damned cat' was 'underfoot in his damned chambers' and 'getting his damned hair on everything' , though as the grumpy cat sat purring happily in his lap, kneading his legs as Severus rubbed his ears, an arched eyebrow from the woman beside him showed that the jig was up and he'd been discovered. Damn._

* * *

She was tired out after the visits from the ducklings, who had all left albeit reluctantly at Severus's insistence. She was still on high doses of painkillers, very high for one of her stature and build, but her body was still burning it off at an accelerated rate. Severus watched her as she carried on for as long as she could for the sake of the children, though as sweat began to bead on her brow and her replies became a little slower and shorter he knew she was reaching the end of her tether, as the drugs wore off and the mounting pain began to overwhelm her.

He'd ordered them out, gently but sternly, and though they were protestations they all heeded to his warning and stern glare. Helena and Grey were the last two left, Helena parting with another hug and whispered thanks once more, along with teary eyed happiness at the well used copy of Hogwarts a History, Hermione had leant to her.

Grey was the last, and though he watched Helena as she left the room with cautious eyes, he remained on the bed head pillowed upon Hermione's lap.

Hermione met Severus eyes and gave him a sad smile, as his own eyes softened at the small boy in her lap.

Trying to think of the best way forward, she sighed softly and stopped stroking his hair, though didn't remove her hand from the crown of blond curls. The boy of course knew what she meant, but closed his eyes and tightened his hand in the bed sheet in denial.

"It's time to go Grey" Severus said gently, and the boy just lay still as though he could close his eyes tightly and deny the current situation.

"Hermione needs to take her painkillers and to sleep, it's been a long day for her and you wouldn't want her to be in any more pain now would you?" The boy's opened then and he looked to Severus's face as though to gauge his seriousness, and then to Hermione. He must've noticed the sweat on her brow, or the slightly pinched look of the smile she gave him for he instantly got up with a guilty look marring his face, that spoke of huge crocodile tears being forcibly kept at bay.

 _"Severus"_  Hermione scolded with a hiss, at seeing the distraught look on the small boys face, and he offered a apologetic look. He'd no intention to upset the boy and had tried to be as diplomatic as he could be, though his concerns for Hermione were marring his judgement. Besides, he was not known for a well practised gentle nature.

"Baby, come here" Hermione spoke softly and the boy burrowed into her side as she held him in a half hug.

"I'm not trying to get rid of you. But these painkillers I have to take, they're pretty strong and they can make me really sleepy or sometimes say things I don't mean. It's like taking a sleeping draft and a babbling brew at the same time" She pressed a finger under his chin encouraging him to look up at her. "I'm really not trying to get rid of you, you're welcome to come back any time you like, but It would really upset me If I took my medicine and then said something awful to you, that I didn't mean, do you understand?" Swallowing back the tears that were fighting to escape he nodded and Hermione smiled at him.

"Then you'll come back tomorrow when I'm more fit for company and see me right?" Another nod then, more eagerly than before. "And you know, no matter what, that you can trust Professor Snape as well if you need anything?" Another nod, without hesitation. "Good" She said and placed a gentle kiss in his hair as he wrapped his arms around her a final time.

After stroking the head of the emerald kneazle the boy departed and a girl's animated words drifted from the hall and they knew that Helena had been waiting for him.

**oOo**

"S-severus?" She managed to get out, and he was quickly summoning Poppy without any more words needing the be spoken.

He returned quickly and she heard poppy going to fetch the morphine from the fridge. "Will you stay?" She asked him.

Cautiously he met her gaze. "Poppy intends to clean and redress the wound on your side, does she not?, whilst you are under the strongest effects of the morphine?" He asked and she nodded just as Poppy came through.

"Which is why I wanted to ask you now, before I take it and my words can be thrown into question" Poppy said nothing as she set up the table at the side of them, though they both knew she was listening.

"The morphine takes the edge off but... I hate to be a burden and impose you but, would you read to me? Try and keep my mind off it?" She asked with a grimace as Poppy helped her move onto her good side.

His gaze locked onto hers, and he realised he could deny her nothing, let alone this. She asked so little of anyone.

"It is no imposition and you are no burden witch" was his answer, and she gave him a wide smile aided by the morphine Poppy had pressed into the IV.

Sitting he picked up the only piece of reading material he had to hand, which was a short pamphlet he'd been sent from potions quarterly. It did not take long for him to get through the small pamphlet, and each time her body would tense and eyes drift away from him towards the source of her discomfort, he would quickly question her on what he'd just read. More often than not he'd get utter nonsense in reply, eerily reminiscent of the Lovegood girl (who Severus made a humorous mental note to have randomly tested for mind altering substances after the association he'd just made)

He managed to read through the pamphlet twice, quizzing her all the while and getting increasingly ludicrous answers, before Poppy began to redress the gruesome wound on her side. "I am afraid Miss Granger, that I am out of interesting reading material for you" he said softly as she was finally laid on her back.

"Like I care  _what_  you read. Someone get that man a phonebook" Came the slurred reply, followed by a somewhat girlish giggle and Poppy's snort of amusement, all the while Severus cleared his throat and tried to deny the two points of colour that appeared on his cheeks.


	17. Chapter 17

_"I am afraid Miss Granger, that I am out of interesting reading material for you" he said softly as she was finally laid on her back._

_"Like I care what you read. Someone get that man a phonebook" Came the slurred reply, followed by a somewhat girlish giggle and Poppy's snort of amusement, all the while Severus cleared his throat and tried to deny the two points of colour that appeared on his cheeks._

* * *

He was unsure if she remembered what she'd said to him when she was riding the morphine train, though she made no mention of it when he next saw her. So Severus decided to ignore it also... in her presence anyway. Privately his emotions warred with him. He was embarrassed of course, especially at the amused looks that Poppy kept levelling him when he came to see the girl, but he also couldn't help be a little thrilled that she liked his voice.  _Liked_  liked his voice if her ramblings were to be believed. Then however he felt horribly guilty for feeling pleased that she might just see him as more than just an asexual friend and staff member.  
Because Merlin knows he was starting to see her as more than just a student, and the guilt rolled in him because of it.  
He'd never touched a student, of age or otherwise...not even when he started teaching and was only a mere 3 years older than the seventh year girls. Yet it was impossible for him to deny, that Severus Snape had stopped looking at Hermione Granger as a student, and had started seeing her as a fierce young woman.

**oOo**

The progress of her healing was slow, having the equivalent damage of a muggle walking in front of a train will do that to you, though it was soon that Poppy was removing the stitches from the scars across her face, declaring them as healed as they were going to get. He wasn't there when she did it, but he came to see her that night as usual and she was unusually quiet, with the ducklings and with Severus himself. So much so that he called her up on it.

"You're quiet tonight" He said to her softly. She met his gaze with a sad smile. "Sorry, guess my thoughts have been elsewhere" she answered just as softly. He'd always sat on her left hand side, since the beginning. It was because her right side had been bandaged and she could see him from the left. Once the bandages came off and her black eye went down, there had simply been no reason to move his chair from its position so there it had stayed.

Though for some reason tonight, she wasn't looking at him. Unless she had to, and even then it was for the briefest of moments before looking away again. It didn't take him long to fathom the reason why. She was self conscious. Of all the things decorating her room, a mirror was not one of them. Though now he noted the small hand mirror on her side table. When Poppy removed the stitches, she must've seen the scars on her face for the first time.

She was trying not to look at him, because she was self conscious of the scars. He almost scoffed to himself. As if they would detract from her beauty. In Severus's opinion, if anything they added to it. They were marks of honour, she was a hero. Each mark she bore attested to the strength of her heart, each mark another life she had saved. Though it was clear from her dejected manner, that she did not see it that way.

Making a decision he sniffed haughtily and stood. Her eyes met his in confusion for a moment, as he'd stopped midway through reading something. She was fully capable of reading herself of course, but for some reason he had just continued to read to her every day, as was his habit, and he knew with great certainty now that she didn't mind.

He picked up his chair and dragged it noisily to the other side of the bed. She met his eyes before looking away quickly. "What are you doing?" She asked as he came to sit at the other side.

"There was a draft" He said simply, before carrying on with his reading as though nothing had happened. She kept looking away from him, he made a point of looking directly at her and asking her numerous questions about the subject material, forcing her to meet his gaze time and time again. It didn't take long for her to realise what he was doing, she was the smartest witch of the age after all.

"I know what you're doing" She said softly, meeting his gaze with a sad look that hurt him to see it on her face.

"I should hope so, it's called reading and If you were not familiar with it I would've had to ask you what you'd done with the real Hermione Granger"

She slapped his arm and he merely smirked at her, then grabbed her hand in his own. Both preventing her from slapping him again, and from covering up her face.

For a moment she almost pulled her hand away, before she sighed out deeply and relaxed into the bed, squeezing his hand in repsonce.

"Thank you" She whispered, meeting his gaze steadily, "For what?" He asked casually and with a smug smirked as he continued to read to her. She chuckled and propped her chin up with her other hand, as she was watching his ebony eyes carefully as he continued his reading.

Severus for his part, tried not to be delighted about the lingering presence of her small hand in his.

**oOo**

A few days later he was alerted to an incident that had him storming his way up the castle and in to the hospital wing, to the sound of distressed sobs. He flung open the doors to Hermione's room to find a worried mediwitch hovering as Hermione comforted the sobbing boy in her lap. Helena was beside her, fretting over her friend.

"What happened?" He snarled to poppy and she met his gaze stonily but it was Helena that answered. "He got a letter this morning from his uncle, but when he opened it, it hurt his hands" She said in a voice that was thick with tears and worry. The boy was in 'his' position, which was laid with his head in Hermione' lap as she stroked his hair. He was sobbing and cradling his hands to his chest, and Hermione was stroking his back and soothing him.

"From what I can tell, he laced the parchment with Buboter pus" She said worriedly, taking in the crying boy.

"From what you can tell? Why the devil has he not been treated yet?" He growled at her, but it was Hermione who spoke. "He asked for you Severus, he wouldn't let Poppy near him" She said softly, as she tried to calm the distraught boy in her arms.

His anger deflated then, and he quickly turned to the mediwitch. "If you would Leave us, Poppy?" she nodded and left the room, taking a protesting Helena with her, leaving just the three of them in the small private room.

Severus made his way over to the bed, and sat at the side of Hermoine's legs, close to the crying boy in her lap.

"Will you show me your hands Gray" He said softly and the boy just shook his head 'no' in distress and buried his face into Hermoine's lap once more, still cradling his hands to his chest.

"Let Severus look sweetie, he's here to help you ok, you asked for him and he came" She spoke softly as she stroked his hair and the boy looked at him through tearful eyes.

"I will always try to be there for you Gray, you asked for me so here I am, will you let me look at you?" He spoke in the softest voice he could muster. Trembling the boy held out his hands, and Severus hissed through his teeth at the damage. It was clear the vicious man had coated the parchment in raw Buboter pus, and the boys hands currently looked like he'd stuck them in an acid bath.

The boy only cried harder, and from his now seated position on the bed, Hermione wrapped him in a hug from behind. "Oh baby, it's going to be alright, Severus will help you" she whispered to him, as Severus summoned the potions he would need.

As gently as he could he cradled the boys hands in his, as he began to pour the salve on them. The boy whimpered when it made contact with his raw hands.

"I'm sorry lad, I know it stings but it will get better quickly I promise you, just grit your teeth for a minute"

As gently as he could he massaged the salve into the boys hand, that would neutralise the acidic pus and help his damaged skin regrow. Taking care he covered all of the boys hands, making sure he got the delicate webbing between the fingers too.

The boys sobs had quieted to hiccups, as the pain gradually faded with the salve. Hermione was no longer holding him, but rubbing his back gently and talking to him "You're being so brave baby, I'm so proud of you, it's ok it'll all be over soon" She whispered and the boy held himself steady while Severus worked.

A fierce feeling of protective anger was rolling around his chest as he fixed the boys ruined hands. He didn't deserve this, no child did, but Jacob was such a gentle boy, he wouldn't hurt a fly. Ever since Severus took on his guardianship, he'd felt a fierce protectiveness to the little snake but nothing like he did in this moment, as Hermione continued to talk to the softly crying boy.

"All done Gray" He said softly when he was finished "We're all done, you did admirably" the praise had the boy meeting his eyes with his tearful ones, and Severus was once again struck by just how  _small_  and defenceless the boy was.

With a wonder filled look at his pink and sore, though thankfully no longer red raw hands, Gray met his eyes and sniffed back tears.

He didn't know what it was that went through him, but the pang in his chest at seeing the boy in such pain, physical and emotional, had him reaching his hand out to tuck a fair curl behind his ear. "Well done lad, are you alright?" He asked the boy softly.

It was to Severus's complete shock and surprise that the boy let out a choked sob, and promptly threw his arms around Severus in a tight hug. He let out a little  _oof_  as the boy knocked the wind out of him, and looked to Hermione with a look that clearly said 'Help, what did I do?'. 

"Right now, he just wants...needs you" she whispered to him. "You were there for him Severus, he asked for you and you actually came".

So tentatively, he wrapped his arms around the boy and returned the hug, only to look at Hermione in panic once more when the boys sobs got louder. But she just nodded and gave him a sad smile. "He needs this" she whispered, an Severus swallowed an nodded back. 

After a few moments, the feeling rolling through him would not be ignored any longer, and looking at Hermione he knew that he would receive no harsh judgements from her, so after letting out a harsh sigh, the tension fell from his frame and he stopped holding himself back for the sake of his image, and instead allowed himself to pull the small boy into his lap and into a much firmer hug. 

"You're going to be alright baby, I'm here for you" he whispered. 

It was the first time he'd ever relented and called the boy baby, and he didn't even try to hide his own tears as the small boy held onto him even tighter at his words as though he was a lifeline.

When Poppy checked on them an hour later, it was to Hermione and Severus sleeping on Hermione's hospital bed with the small form of Gray tucked between them. Hermione and Gray under the quilt, and Severus in his full teaching robes laid on top of it.

With an indulgent smile, she turned off the lights and left them to it. 


	18. Chapter 18

**AUTHORS NOTE: For those of you who read my other fics, you may have seen this note already. But I want to apologise for the long delay in updating Chimaera and many of my other stories. I've been in a very dark place over the past few weeks, and it's made it difficult for me to find the energy or the will to write. I hold all of my reviewers and readers in such high esteem that I felt it would be better to wait until I felt more human and perhaps give you a shorter chapter, than give you a longer chapter that was sub par when you've waited so long for it.**

**At times I've been that low over the past few weeks that I was considering things that I haven't in a long time, and it was only the fact that I had promised you all I would leave nothing unfinished, that got me out of bed and stopped me from doing something drastic.**

**So here's the next instalment of Chimaera for you all, and I'm sorry again for the delay.**

**But I also want to thank you all for the constant support you give me, especially those who responded to this authors note already on Father Mine Sins of the Father, NTSG and a Cure for Magic. It really does mean more than you know to have you all there for me when I need it.**

* * *

_When Poppy checked on them an hour later, it was to Hermione and Severus sleeping on Hermione's hospital bed with the small form of Gray tucked between them. Hermione and Gray under the quilt, and Severus in his full teaching robes laid on top of it._

_With an indulgent smile, she turned off the lights and left them to it._

* * *

The Longbottom boy had begun to visit her, quietly. Usually under the guise of delivering some plants to Poppy, or more often than not for Severus, who could usually be found by Miss Granger's side, either alone or with a contingent of other Slytherins.

So occasionally Neville found his way to her side, though he had been the only Gryffindor to do so. He was even formal and polite to the Slytherin students, if any were there. It would be a long shot to say he was friendly towards them, but he never said a word against them and always remembered his manners, so the Slytherins treated him in kind. There was something to be said for pureblood etiquette after all.

Minerva continued to lament at the bull-headedness of her lions, but the fact of the matter was there was no convincing Ronald, Ginny, Seamus or Dean of Hermione's innocence. As Lavendar was dating Ronald, Harry Dating Ginny and Patil twins dating Seamus and Dean, that meant the majorty of Gryffindor's upperclassmen were against Hermione. That meant none of the younger cubs would dare openly support her for fear of being shunned by their own housemates.

Though Minerva assured her, loudly and frequently, that a great number of the younger years were not against her, they were too afraid of the loud mouthed bullies in their own house to be openly support her.

Dumbledore, continued to be absent. Though that suited both Hermione and Severus just fine.

**oOo**

Hermione was eventually visited by the parents of the children she had saved, along with a number of other Slytherin alumni. She was formally apologised to, and offered so many gifts and opportunities that it was mind boggling. She could say with all certainty that whatever field she chose to pursue after Hogwarts, there was Slytherin that could get her foot in the door of the right office. And for every one of those there was another two willing to bankroll whatever career or study she decided to pursue to follow.

_You want to be a healer? I know the chief mediwitch, and can get you an internship tomorrow._

_Nowhere to stay while you study? Allow me to gift you one of my summer homes._

_Want to study independently? Allow me to purchase you a premises to work from._

_Plan to Travel the magical world? Allow me to finance your trip._

It was utterly bewildering, and along with the realisation that the entire wizarding world had been opened to her, with all obstacles removed from her path, came the shocking realisation that she was now  _fair game_. Not only that, but she and her name was actually  _highly_  eligible.

Family after family who visited were subtly  _(and some not so subtly)_  introducing her to, or casually mentioning their sons and nephews.

Their _single_  sons and nephews.

Hermione found it equal parts bewildering, humorous and painful.

Bewildering because it was such a confusing thought, that she the notorious Gryffindor mudblood was suddenly being stared at by these pureblood families with young sons, as though she was a prize catch.

Humorous that though these boys were often mortified at their parents actions, some offered pleasant greetings and shy smiles.

Painful because she was constantly reminded that none of this would even be an issue if the parents understood the truth of the matter. The full truth. That no matter how 'Eligible' she was as potential wife material for their sons...that she was never going to give them what they really wanted.  _Heirs._

Though there was something else that made her thoughts swirl madly in her mind. Whenever those parents would bring up their sons, Severus would stiffen almost imperceptibly, and frown at his book or paper. Often excusing himself to attend to some unspecified business  _ **elsewhere**_. But what was most curious was when some of those 6th and 7th year boys would visit, and offer her shy smiles and quiet conversation, Severus would glare angrily and usually leave with a biting remark or scathing comment, leaving Hermione frowning in confusion at his abrupt departure, and the boys quaking in fear.

However, whenever the boys got a little too fresh, as some tried their hands at straight up flirting, she would promptly (yet politely) cut them down and would always notice Severus failing to hide a smirk.

It took her longer than it should've for her to realise why he was acting that way towards the Slytherin boys when usually he was well know for favouring his own house, and when she did it woke her up in the middle of the night as she covered her face through a giggle.

"Oh Merlin!"

Severus Snape was  _jealous._

**oOo**

It had been almost 5 months now since Hermione's attack and they were only a few weeks away from Christmas. Though it was no problem to stay at the school over the shorter holidays, Christmas was one that the staff and students alike, usually wished to be at home for.

Hermione had made no mention of it, and had become quieter as the days went on. It was Minerva that eventually brought up the impending holiday, when she was sitting with Hermione and Severus in the hospital wing. Hermione's health had continued to improve, though the the severe damage to her leg and stomach, was what was still keeping her bed bound.

Minerva had been talking of plans to visit a cousin over the holidays, when Hermione had gone quiet and withdrawn from the conversation somewhat.

"And your parents Hermione? Poppy had said you requested she not contact them, and as you're of age she has to respect your wishes... and I understand your reasoning, not wanting to worry them, though now it is closer to the holidays, they surely will be wondering why you aren't making any plans for returning home this year?"

Hermione's look was guarded when she spoke, Minerva might've missed it but Severus did not. "It's already arranged Minerva, they won't be missing me. I already had plans to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas, even before this happened, so no-one is expecting me at home anyway." She answered with a false smile, that made Severus furrow his brow.

Minerva did not notice though, and smiled back to her. "Well that's one less thing to worry about eh? I am sure Pomona will be happy to keep you company-"

"Actually, I have traded duties with Pomona. She was keen to be returning to visit her sister, so I agreed to cover her shift and I shall be remaining over the holidays." Severus answered smoothly, without looking up from the paper he had with him.

"But you drew the short straw last year Severus, and played hell because of it? Nobody ever wants the Christmas shift, why would you offer to-..." Suddenly her mouth snapped shut and she snapped her eyes from Severus, who was pointedly silent and not lifting his gaze from the paper in his lap, to Hermione who was looking a little flushed, and had suddenly found a spot on the bed-sheets very interesting, so much so that she couldn't meet Minerva's gaze.

"Ah. So that's the way the winds blowing is it?" She asked with an arched eyebrow.

Hermione just flushed further, and Severus's face was decidedly not as pale as it usually was, though he still pointedly refused to look up from his paper. "I am simply doing a favour for a colleague Minerva, no more, no less. It would not be the first time I've traded duties with someone and I'm sure it shan't be the last"

"Aye, whatever you say Severus" Minerva said with a snort. "If that's the way you want to play it, fine"

She gathered her things together as she made to leave, and looked back in time to see Hermione and Severus sharing a small glance and shy smile.

She snorted again in mirth and their eyes quickly snapped away from each other, and back to their individual tasks.

"Merlin's Balls." She huffed as she left."I owe Poppy 20 Galleons"

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think :)


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